Writing Resources

Academic writing may seem like an easy path to navigate from a distance but on closer inspection, most are left bewildered by the various paths that need to be traversed in order to string together the separate parts of an essay or a thesis in a coherent whole. To aid you in this process, the Writing Centre has put together some resources for you to peruse at your leisure.

If you require further assistance, please make a booking and we would be happy to lend a helping hand.

Creative people brainstorming in meeting

Getting Started

Academic Reading Skills

Use this tool to unpack the key elements of the reading

Academic Summary

How to summarize the key points of an academic reading

Generating Ideas

Before you can start writing, you need to come up with ideas around your topic

Plan and Organize

Task Analysis

A guide to breaking down the assignment question & expectations

Action Words

A brief overview of some of the most common instruction words and their meaning

task analysis

essay structure

Essay Structure

This simple guide demonstrates how to structure an essay by clearly introducing and concluding your argument, and laying out your paragraphs coherently in between

The Writing Process

Academic Blog Post Writing

Academic Reflective Essay Writing

Planning the Essay

Critical Thinking & Writing

Critical thinking is important to show the reader that you can explore and analyze the topic beyond just re-stating what other scholars have said

How to Be a Critical Reader

A step by step guide on critical reading

Thesis Statement

Academic Arguments

An argument is more than a topic; it is an approach to or opinion on a topic. Use this guideline to make sure your argument is clear, and focused.

Introductions & Conclusions

Using sources

Using Sources in Essays

Attributive Verbs/Position Words

Use this resource to help you position yourself in relation to ideas, theories, authors, and texts.

Figures & Tables

Use this resource as a guide to presenting figures and tables in your academic writing

Paraphrasing

This resource explains what paraphrasing is, why it's important and how you could effectively paraphrase.

Writing the essay

Including Counter Arguments

Academic Phrases

Coherence

Keep this simple set of principles in mind while you write and revise your work to make sure your writing is coherent.

Cohesion

Tying’ our words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs together, to give your text ‘flow’.

Grammar, Editing and Formatting

Passive vs. Active Voice

Editing Checklist

When preparing to submit an assignment, ask yourself these important questions.

Prepositions

Prepositions are used to show the relationship between a noun or pronoun, and another word. This resource explains how to select an appropriate preposition and lists some prepositions according to the type of relationship they describe.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Research and Writing

How to Write an Absract

Research Proposal

Use this general outline to help structure and write your research proposal

Literature Review

Use this guide to help plan and structure your literature review

Referencing

Referencing - What and Why?

How to Avoid Plagiarism

This handout highlights some of the common plagiarism infractions so that you can be sure to avoid them in your work.

Using Quotation Marks

This handout will help you decide when and how to quote without cluttering or interrupting your text.

Referencing Style

It is important to check the accuracy of your references against a referencing/citation style guide.

Humanities Refrence Guide 2022

MISCELLANEOUS

Typesetting

Guidelines for the placement of spaces, paragraph breaks, and indents to ensure your submission presents neatly.

General Language Tips

Some general tips to align your writing with academic linguistic conventions.

Interpreting Your Turn-It In Report

Tips on how to access and interpret your turn-it in report.

USEFUL LINKS

Daily Grammar

Daily Grammar deals mainly with grammatical rules and usage. A good site, as it offers interactive exercises and experiments with language.

HyperGrammar

HyperGrammar from the University of Ottawa, looks at the micro-level of writing detailing parts of speech, sentence building, phrases, paragraphs and other aspects of grammar.

11 Rules of Writing

This is a concise guide to some of the most commonly violated rules of writing, grammar and punctuation. It aids in the learning and refining of writing. The links to "Elements of Style", at the bottom of each rule, does not work, but the website is still useful.

FHS Writing Lab Resources

The Faculty of Health Sciences has a satellite writing centre offering specialised support on the Groote Schuur campus. This links to their resources page. Their resources are useful for anyone writing in a science discipline.