Essay and thesis writing style guides

General print guides in the library

Check availability in the Library catalogue by clicking on the link:

The Chicago manual of style 15th ed. (2003) Electronic version also available.

Style manual for authors, editors and printers. 6th ed. (2002).
Includes Harvard referencing style (author-date system)

Form and style : research papers, reports, theses. 11th ed. 2000
This covers writing style to layout and bibliographic styles.
There are chapters on Chicago, MLA and APA style.

The essentials of MLA style : a guide to the system of documentation... 1998

MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 7th ed. 2009.

MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing. 3rd ed. 2008

A manual for writers of term papers, theses, and dissertations. 7th ed. 2007

Essay writing for students : a practical guide. 3rd ed. 1997.

Internet resources

The University of Adelaide's Academic Learning and Language Learning Guides are very useful, particularly:

Academic learning and Language offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations. See their web site for details.

Purdue Online Writing Lab
A comprehensive set of helpsheets on everything from researching your essay to correct punctuation.

Amherst College: online resources for writers
Helpful academic writing guides for specific facets of essay writing (Thesis and argument; Introductions and conclusions; Paragraph unity and coherence etc.)

How to prepare an annotated bibliography (Cornell University)

Criticially analyzing information sources (Cornell University)
Checking how useful, how credible your information sources are: what are the author's credentials? When was the information published? Is this an academic or a popular source?

See also Distinguishing scholarly journals from popular sources and Evaluating web sites