Scholarly Writing in a Nutshell
Scholarly writing is a genre of its own. There are certain expectations of form, format, style, and rigor. These include but are not limited to:
- Citation-based writing
- Adherence to citation standards such as APA
- Theoretical/conceptual analysis (typically a literature review)
- Research-based presentation and analysis
- Adherence to standards of writing style (pertaining to bias, subjectivity, language etc.)
One of the best ways to learn to master scholarly writing is to read a generous amount of scholarly publications, especially peer-reviewed or refereed journal articles.
DPLS and the CSW offer several guidelines which alongside the APA Publication Manual are intended to support students in their endeavors to understand and master the skills of scholarly writing.
Please refer to the following documents and guidelines:
- What is a scholarly paper? (PDF file, 18 pages)
- Nuts and Bolts of Scholarly Writing
- But I've Never Written a Dissertation Before! (DPLS speak: "The BLUE Book" - PLEASE NOTE: this is based on APA 5. A version based on APA 6 is forthcoming.)
