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Writing In the Disciplines

The guide will assist students who are beginning to research and write within their chosen disciplines. It would be a good place for English 20 students to begin their work.

What does it mean to write in your discipline?

Learning to write within your discipline means learning:

  • the specialized vocabulary your discipline uses
  • the rhetorical conventions and discourse of your discipline
  • the research methogologies which are employed

It's a good idea to begin learning how to write in your discipline by familiarizing yourself with the journals and trade publications professionals, researchers, and scholars use. 

Find out

  • The best journals
  • The most widely circulated trade publications
  • The additional ways professionals and researchers communicate, such as conferences, newsletters, or symposiums.

 You can always contact the Subject Librarian supporting your discipline to get help determining any of the above.  Click here for a list of Subject Librarians:

 

Guide Information

This LibGuide was created by Maria Kochis and first published on 6/16/2016

First steps

One way to find journals in your field is to go to the list of Databases supporting your discipline. 

         1)Go to this webpage, Database and Article Searching.            
         2)Scroll down to the category best describing your discipline.
         3)Choose a database to search. 
         4) Search by Subject or Keyword for some topic in your discipline.
         5)If full text articles don't come up, click on Find It.

 Tip! Check out this guide on Locating Articles to refamiliarize yourself with finding full text articles

If you know the title of a journal, you can

          1)Try searching for the online journal in the Journal A-Z list

           OR

         1) Search in the Advanced option of OneSearch by title.
         2) Refine your list by clicking on Journals on the left, under Refine my Results

        

Second Steps

Consult the Style Guides and Manuals supporting your discipline.  Style guides explain in detail how to format your manuscript; they provide best practices for referencing your sources; they also provide information on appropriate writing styles for specific disciplines.

  •    Click on the tab above, Style Guides and Manuals

Consult additional books - such as handbooks - on writing in your discipline. 

  •     Click on the tab above, Additional Books for Writing in your Discipline
Last Updated: Sep 6, 2023 10:46 AM