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Academic Writing Resources

This page contains information, handouts, videos, and other materials about academic writing. Some of this material has been developed by the Hixon Writing Center, and other resources are links to good resources created by other writing centers, libraries, or university programs.

Introduction to Academic Writing

This set of video resources on college writing, produced by the Hixon Writing Center, offers Caltech freshmen four tutorials led by peer tutors on topics that are always challenging to freshman writers. The videos address making an argument, organization, working with sources, and writing with clarity. Each of these videos is accompanied by a handout that summarizes its main ideas. Two additional videos featuring faculty and students explore the importance of writing for students focused on study in STEM fields and how the writing process works.

Key Elements, Processes, and Skills for Academic Writing

If you are asking general questions about how to write a successful academic paper, these resources may be helpful. This includes topics like crafting strong arguments, organization, and writing well at the sentence level. Be aware that contexts of genre and discipline (discussed below on this page) affect how these core aspects of academic writing work in practice.

Scholarly Citation, Style Systems, and Plagiarism

If you are asking questions about how to cite texts and avoid plagiarism, these resources may be helpful. We have print copies of many style guides in the HWC, and the library also has print and digital copies of many guides.

Understanding Plagiarism

Academic style system guides

Genres (Types) of Academic Writing

If you are working to write a type of academic writing that is unfamiliar to you, these resources may help you understand what it is and why it works the way it does.

Writing for Specific Academic Disciplines

The way knowledge is produced affects how it is written about, which accounts for the differences you may encounter in writing for different disciplinary audiences. If you're getting to know how writing works in a new field these resources may help.

Working with Sources in Specific Disciplines

General Resources on Disciplinary Writing

Resources in Caltech's Library

While there are many good online resources related to academic writing, not everything you need to know can be found online. Our library has many books related to academic, professional, and technical writing you can consult and borrow. The HWC has worked with the library to create a LibGuide about Writing that will quickly connect you to many of those resources.

The HWC has also composed an annotated bibliography of our favorite resources for writers in STEM fields. Many of these books are available in the Caltech Library, and the HWC has copies of all of them that you can utilize inside the Center.

This page is currently being updated. If you're looking for help with something and don't find a resource here, please email us and let us know what you'd like to see here.