Writing Guides and Bibliographies
Disciplinary-Specific Writing Guides
Writing Guides Across the Disciplines
Here is a short list of writing guides you may want to reference in your W course, organized by discipline. Texts selected include the most recent versions of guides previously used in upper-division courses or texts positively reviewed, either by peer-reviewed publications, or by instructors, subject librarians, and students at other institutions. Numbers in parentheses reflect pricing through Amazon. Web resources have been selected from reputable institutions of higher education for their thorough coverage of writing genres, conventions, and practices in the disciplines and because of their potential applicability in our coursework at UCI.
- Art History
- Bio Sci
- Business
- Drama
- Economics
- Engineering
- Health Sciences
- History
- Info/Comp Sci
- Music
- Physics
- Political Science
- Social Ecology/Social Science
- Anthropology
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Other Guides
Online:
- The Purdue OWL, “Writing Essays in Art History”: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/1004/04/
- The Writing Center at Hamilton College, “Writing an Art History Paper”: https://www.hamilton.edu/academics/centers/writing/writing-resources/writing-an-art-history-paper
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Art History”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/art-history/
Print:
- Carrier, David. Writing about visual art. Allworth Communications, Inc., 2003. ($18)
- Wyman, Marilyn. Looking and Writing: a Guide for Art History Students. Pearson, 2003. ($15)
Online:
- Harvard University, “A Student’s Guide to Writing in the Biological Sciences” (49 pages): http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic249275.files/BioSci_Writing_Guide.pdf
- Southwestern University, “Guide for Writing in Biology:” http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4637-biology-department-writing-guide
- The Writing Center at UConn, “Writing in Biology”: http://writingcenter.uconn.edu/writing-in-biology/
Print:
- Knisely, Karin. A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology. 3rd Ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2009. Print. ($6)
- McMillan, Victoria E. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences. 4th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006. ($35)
Online:
- The College of New Jersey School of Business, “Guide to Writing”: https://business.tcnj.edu/resources/business-students/writing-analyzing-presenting/writing/
- UCLA Graduate Student Resource Center, “Writing in Business and Management” (collected resources): http://gsrc.ucla.edu/GWC/Resources/Writing-in-Business-and-Management
Print:
- Bovée, Courtland V. and John V. Thill. Business Communication Essentials: A Skills-Based Approach to Vital Business English. 6th Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2014. ($57)
- Brusaw, Charles T., et al. The Business Writer’s Companion. 7th Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. ($53)
Online:
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Drama”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/drama/
Print:
- Hudson, Suzanne. Writing About Theatre and Drama. 2nd Ed. Independence, KY: Cengage Learning, 2006. ($45-$70)
Online:
- Dudenhefer, Paul (Duke University). “A Guide to Writing in Economics” (67 pages): http://lupus.econ.duke.edu/ecoteach/undergrad/manual.pdf
- Neugeboren, Robert and Mireille Jacobson (Harvard University). “Writing Economics” (53 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/writingeconomics.pdf
Print:
- Miller, Jane. The Chicago Guide to Writing about Multivariate Analysis, Second Edition. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. U. Chicago Press, 2013. ($40)
- Thomson, William. A Guide for the Young Economist: Writing and Speaking Effectively about Economics. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. ($13)
Online:
- Moran, Tom. Writing for Success – An Engineer’s Guide (29 pages): https://web.stanford.edu/class/engr110/2013/Writing-for-Success-Volume-1.pdf
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). “Writing in Engineering” (includes link to videos on the topic): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/4/19/
Print:
- Alred, Gerald J. et al. Handbook of Technical Writing. 6th Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. Print. ($28)
Online:
- Luby, Steve and Dorothy Southern. The Pathway to Publishing: A Guide to Quantitative Writing in the Health Sciences (115 pages): http://globalhealth.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/globalhealth/documents/Research/A%20Guide%20to%20Quantitative%20Scientific%20Writing%20V%2021.pdf
- Perelman, Leslie C., James Pardis, and Edward Barrett. The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing: http://www.mhhe.com/mayfieldpub/tsw/home.htm
Print:
- Gimenez, Julio. “Beyond the academic essay: Discipline-specific writing in nursing and midwifery.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes3 (2008): 151-164.
- Terryberry, Karl J. Writing for the health professions. Cengage Learning, 2005.
Online:
- Hamilton College History Department: Writing a Good History Paper (38 pages): https://www.hamilton.edu/documents/writing-center/WritingGoodHistoryPaper.pdf
- Harvard College Writing Center. “A Brief Guide to Writing the History Paper” (4 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/bg_writing_history.pdf
Print:
- Rampolla, Mary Lynn. A Pocket Guide to Writing in History. 7th Ed. Boston and New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2007. ($16)
- The Best American History Essays 2008. David Roediger, Ed. New York: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2008. Print. ($35)
Online:
- Moran, Tom. Writing for Success – An Engineer’s Guide (29 pages): https://web.stanford.edu/class/engr110/2013/Writing-for-Success-Volume-1.pdf
- Shoop, Libby. “A Guide for Writing a Technical Research Paper” (7 pages): https://www.macalester.edu/~bressoud/capstone/TechPaperHowTo.pdf
- Taffe, William J. “Writing in the Computer Science Curriculum” (article in Writing Across the Curriculum Journal, 6 pages): https://wac.colostate.edu/journal/vol1/taffe.pdf
Print:
- Paradis, James and Muriel Zimmerman. The MIT Guide to Science and Engineering Communication. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002. ($32)
- Tufte, Edward R. Visual & Statistical Thinking: Displays Of Evidence For Decision Makin Graphics PR, 1997. ($30)
- Zobel, Justin. Writing for Computer Science. 3d ed. NY: Springer, 2014. ($29)
Online:
- Harvard College. Writing about Music: A Guide to Writing in A & I 24 (13 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/ai_24_guide_to_print.pdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Music”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/music/
Print:
- Herbert, Trevor. Music in Words: A Guide to Researching & Writing about Music. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. ($16)
- Holoman, D. Kern. Writing about Music: a Style Sheet. 2d ed. Berkeley, et al.: Univ. of California Press, 2008. ($35)
Online:
- Bottorff, Mark. “Guide for Writing in Physics and Dual-Degree Engineering” (9 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4179-guide-for-writing-in-physicspdf
- Elliott, Celia M. Guidelines for Writing a Scientific Paper (46 pages): http://physics.illinois.edu/people/Celia/SciWrite.pdf
- McLean, James G. “How to Write a Physics Journal Article” (11 pages): https://www.geneseo.edu/~mclean/Dept/JournalArticle.pdf
Print:
- Katz, Michael Jay. From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing. 2nd Ed. Springer Science, 2009. ($32)
- Markel, Mike. Technical Communication. Tenth Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. ($95)
Online:
- George Washington University, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. “Types of Political Science Writing” (with links to more specific resources for each genre): https://politicalscience.columbian.gwu.edu/types-political-science-writing
- Mariotti, Shannon. “Guide for Writing in Political Science” (6 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4180-guide-for-writing-in-political-sciencepdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Political Science”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/political-science/
Print:
- Baglione, Lisa M. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science: A Practical Guide to Inquiry, Structure, and Methods. 2nd Edition. 2011 ($25)
Online:
- Gerring, John. “General Advice on Social Science Writing” (11 pages): http://blogs.bu.edu/jgerring/files/2013/06/Adviceonessaywriting.pdf
- Pasek, Josh. “Writing the Empirical Social Science Research Paper: A Guide for the Perplexed” (formatted like an APA research paper, 12 pages): https://www.apa.org/education/undergrad/empirical-social-science.pdf
Print:
- Cuba, Lee J. A short guide to writing about social science, 4th New York: Longman, 2002. Print. ($12-59).
- Feak, Christine, and John M. Swales. Telling A Research Story: Writing A Literature Review. Michigan Series In English For Academic & Professional Purposes. Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan U. Press 2009. Print. ($13)
- Publication manual of the American psychological association. Washington DC: American Psychological Association, 2001. Print. ($14).
Online:
- Harvard University Department of Anthropology. A Student’s Guide to Reading and Writing in Social Anthropology (52 pages): https://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1270719.files/anthropology_writing_guide_2010-3.pdf
- Johnson, Melissa. “Guide for Writing in Anthropology” (6 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4165-guide-for-writing-in-anthropology-pdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Anthropology”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/anthropology/
Print:
- Emerson, Robert and Rachel I. Fretz. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Second Edition. Chicago Guides to Writing Editing, and Publishing. 2nd Ed. U. Chicago Press, 2011. ($13)
- Lamott, Ann. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Anchor 1995. ($13)
Online:
- Giuliano, Traci. “Guide for Writing in Psychology” (7 pages): http://www.southwestern.edu/live/files/4181-guide-for-writing-in-psychologypdf
- Harvard College Department of Psychology. Writing for Psychology: A Guide for Psychology Concentrators (48 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/writing_for_psych_final_from_printer.pdf
- Harvard College Writing Center. “A Brief Guide to Writing the Psychology Paper” (4 pages): https://writingproject.fas.harvard.edu/files/hwp/files/bg_psychology.pdf
- Purdue University Online Writing Lab. “Writing in Psychology”: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/670/01/
Print:
- Dunn, Dana S. A short guide to writing about psychology. 3rd Ed. New York: Longman, 2010. Print. ($45)
Online:
- Jones, Jennifer, Sarah Quinn, and Hana Brown. Writing for Sociology 2d ed. (109 pages): http://sociology.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/documents/student_services/writing_guide/Writing%20for%20Sociology%20Guide%20Second%20Edition.pdf
- Oregon State University Department of Sociology. Writing Within Sociology: A Guide for Undergraduates (91 pages): http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/sites/liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/files/sociology/pdf/socwritingguide1-7.pdf
- The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, “Sociology”: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sociology/
Print:
- Williams, Joseph M., et al. Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition. London: U. of Chicago Press, 2010. Print. ($40)
Other Guides:
- Palmquist, Mike. The Bedford Researcher. 4th Ed. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2011. Print. ($51)
- Faigley, Lester. The Little Penguin Handbook. 4th Ed. New York: Longman, 2014. Print. ($33)
- Trimble, John. Writing with Style: Conversations on the Art of Writing. 3rd Ed. New York: Longman, 2010. Print. ($38)
- Truss, Lynn. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Gotham 2006. ($9-16).
- Lunsford, Andrea. EasyWriter: A Pocket Reference. Boston and New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2013. Spiral-bound. ($30)
- Williams, Joseph and Joseph Bizup. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 11th Ed. New York: Longman, 2013. ($17)
[CONSPICUOUS ABSENCE: You may notice no entry for Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. According to a Chronicle of Higher Ed‘s appraisal commemorating its 50-year anniversary, the guide is benign at best and inconsistent, imprecise, and misleading at worst on both matters of grammar and style. A particularly damning assessment from the piece’s author, linguist Geoffrey K. Pullum: “The book’s toxic mix of purism, atavism, and personal eccentricity is not underpinned by a proper grounding in English grammar. It is often so misguided that the authors appear not to notice their own egregious flouting of its own rules. They can’t help it, because they don’t know how to identify what they condemn” (“50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice” April 17, 2009). Should you find parts of that text useful, however, you will find an online version here: http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html.]
Research Bibliographies
In assisting faculty and instructors across the UCI campus, the CWC puts together research bibliographies on a variety of topics related to writing pedagogy. On this page, you’ll find a select catalogue of those bibliographies. Is there a topic you’d like to learn more about? If so, please contact us.
Effective Responses to Student Writing:
Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011.
Carmichael, Stephen, and Peg Alden. “The Advantages of Using Electronic Processes for Commenting on and Exchanging the Written Work of Students with Learning Disabilities and/or AD/HD.” Composition Studies. 34.2 (2006): 43-57.
Ching, Kory L . “The Instructor-Led Peer Conference: Teachers as Participants in Peer Response.” Eds. Steven J. Corbett, et. al. Peer Pressure, Peer Power: Theory and Practice in Peer Review and Response for the Writing Classroom. Fountainhead: Southlake, Texas, 2014. 15-28,
Cohen, Andrew D., and Marilda C. Cavalcanti. “Feedback on Compositions: Teacher and Student Verbal Reports.” Second Language Writing: Research Insights for the Classroom. Ed. Barbara Kroll. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. 155-177.
Elbow, Peter. “High Stakes and Low Stakes in Assigning and Responding to Writing.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning. 1997. 69 (1997): 5-13.
Flynn, Thomas, and Mary King. Dynamics of the Writing Conference: Social and Cognitive Interaction. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1993.
Hartwell, Patrick. “Grammar, Grammars, and the Teaching of Grammar.” College English 47.2 (1985): 105–127.
Haswell, Richard. “Minimal Marking.” College English 45.6 (1985): 600–604. Web.
Kroll, Barry and John Schafer. “Error-Analysis and the Teaching of Composition.” College Composition and Communication. 29.3 (1978): 242–248. Web.
Muncie, James. “Using Written Teacher Feedback in EFL Composition Classes.” English Language Teaching Journal 54.1 (2000): 47-53.
Olson, Mary W. and Paul Raffeld.”The Effects of Written Comments on the Quality of Student Compositions and the Learning of Content.” Reading Psychology 8 (1987): 273–293.
Shaughnessy, Mina. Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
Straub, Richard. The Practice of Response: Strategies for Commenting on Student Writing. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 2000.
Sweeney, Marilyn Ruth. “Relating Revision Skills to Teacher Commentary.” Teaching English in the Two-Year College 27.2 (1999): 213-18.
Vardi, Iris. “Effectively Feeding Forward from One Written Assessment Task to the Next.” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 38.5 (2013): 599-610.
Wyse, Dominic. “The National Literacy Strategy: A Critical Review of Empirical Evidence.” British Educational Research Journal 29.6 (2003): 903-916.
Rubrics (What They Are & How to Use Them):
Andrade, Heidi G. “Teaching with Rubrics: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” College Teaching. 53.1 (2006): 27-31.
Creating and Using Rubrics. Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation. Carnegie Mellon University.
Elbow, Peter. “Grading Student Writing: Making It Simpler, Fairer, Clearer.” New Directions for Teaching & Learning. 1997.69 (1997).
Kohn, Alfie. “The Trouble with Rubrics.” English Journal. 95.4 (2006): 12-15.
Luft, Julie. “Design Your Own Rubric.” Science Scope. 20.5 (1997): 25-27.
Reddy, Y M, and Heidi Andrade. “A Review of Rubric Use in Higher Education.” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. 35.4 (2010): 435-448.
Rubrics. DePaul Teaching Commons. DePaul University.
Turley, Eric D, and Chris W. Gallagher. “On the ‘Uses’ of Rubrics: Reframing the Great Rubric Debate.” English Journal. 97.4 (2008): 87-92.
Young, Linda P. “Imagine Creating Rubrics That Develop Creativity.” English Journal. 99.2 (2009): 74-79.
Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse:
The WAC Clearinghouse, maintained by Colorado State University, offers a tremendous set of resources for faculty who teach both writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines. Research reports and scholarly studies complement practical advice on this must-see website.