Writing

An annotated bibliography is a collection of sources (books, articles, etc.) in which you write a paragraph or two describing and evaluating each source.

• Why they're useful, what they are, and examples (UNC Chapel Hill's Writing Center)
• Definitions, reasons, format (Purdue's Online Writing Lab)

An argument (or persuasive) paper or essay requires you to take a stance on an issue, and present arguments to support your opinion.

• Advice for writing and organizing argument papers (Purdue's Online Writing Lab)

A book report is a summary of a book and is usually more descriptive and objective.

A book review is more critical, in which you evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the book.

• How to write a book report
• How to write a book review

Here are some guidelines to writing a variety of business class assignments:

• Business memo writing guidelines
• Business letter writing guidelines
• Press release writing guidelines
• Executive summary writing guidelines

All guidelines above are from Colorado State University's Writing Studio.

There are several parts to include in a polite email:

Subject:

Always include a subject that summarizes the topic of the email.

• Do not leave the subject empty.
• Do not use a general subject like “hello,” “help!” or your name (they can see your name in the sender information).
• Do not reply to an old email that has a subject about a completely different topic to start a message about a new topic.

Greeting:

The greeting you use shows how formal or informal your email is.

• More formal greetings:
  Dear,
  Good morning,
  Good afternoon,
  Good evening,
• Less formal greetings:
  Hi,
  Hey,
• No greeting:
  If you are emailing someone that you are in frequent contact with, or if you are responding to an email conversation that has been going back and forth for a few messages, you might not need to use any greeting because you are continuing an ongoing conversation.

How to address instructors:

• If your instructor has asked that you use his/her first name, then use their first name in email greetings (Dear Sara, Hi John,).
• If you are not sure what to call your instructor, use the instructor’s title + family name (Dear Dr. Johnson, Hi Professor Smith, Dear Ms. Jones, Hi Mr. Anderson).
• It is not correct to use their title + first name (Dear Professor Sara, Hi Dr. John).

Body:

• Identify who you are if necessary.;
  “I’m a student in section 3 of your Physics 1301 class.”
• Explain the reason you are writing early in the email.
  “I wanted to let you know I won’t be in class tomorrow."
  "I lost the handout from yesterday.”
• Be polite and clear about what you want the recipient to do.
  “Please let me know if I can reschedule the quiz."
  "Could you send me a copy of the handout?”
• Each paragraph should have its own main idea.
• Paragraphs can be shorter, just one or two sentences.
• Paragraphs do not need to be indented.

Closing:

The closing signals that your email is finished.

• More formal closings:
  Thank you in advance,
  Thank you very much,
  Thank you,
  Regards,
  Sincerely,
• Less formal closings:
  Thanks a lot,
  Thanks,
  Best,
• No closing:
  In less formal situations you can just sign your name with no closing.

Signature:

You should always type your name at the end of an email, especially if your email account doesn’t show your English name. Don’t make the recipient look up your email address to find your name. In professional settings, people often use more detailed electronic signatures that might include their:

• Name
• Title
• Company/Department/Program
• Other contact information (address, phone number, etc.)

Writing an essay for an exam is different than writing an essay as a homework assignment because you have a much more limited time frame to organize and write your essay.

• Advice for writing essays for exams (Purdue's Online Writing Lab)

An exploratory paper or essay requires you to explore a problem and possibly some potential solutions to the problem. Purdue's Online Writing Lab has a couple resources to help:

• Introductions, Body Paragraphs, and Conclusions for Exploratory Papers
• Organizing an Exploratory Essay

Lab reports typically include:

1. an Introduction (which may include a Prediction),
2. a Methodology or Procedure section,
3. a Results section (which may be called Data and Analysis),
4. a Discussion or Conclusion section.

The sections may vary depending on your discipline or class, so check with your instructor to confirm which sections are required in your lab reports.

• The sections of scientific papers (Colorado State University's Writing Studio)
• Writing a science lab report (Monash College)

You might also need to write an abstract (a one-paragraph summary) of your experiment. Colorado State University's Writing Studio explains different types of abstracts and how to write them.

For discipline-specific advice on writing lab reports, visit:

• Chemistry writing format (The American Chemical Society style guide)
• Electrical engineering lab reports (Colorado State University's Writing Studio)
• Civil engineering lab reports (Colorado State University's Writing Studio)
• Physics lab report example (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

In technical science writing we use a lot of common phrases. Browse this list of phrases often used in engineering writing (which could also be useful in other science writing).

Research papers are common assignments in many different departments on campus. In a research paper, you use several sources to investigate a topic. You evaluate and interpret this information, and add your own insights and perspectives on the topic.

• Purdue's Online Writing Center has advice on writing research papers, including choosing a topic.
• The University of Wisconsin Writing Center has a step-by-step guide for writing research papers.
• This research paper assignment calculator from the University of Minnesota Libraries can help you manage your time and resources in completing all the parts of a research paper.

In some classes, your instructor might ask you to respond to an essay, article, poem, story, book, event, film, or other prompt.

• Advice for writing responses (Colorado State University's Writing Studio)

In the United States, resumes are more common for undergraduate students and people with bachelor's degrees. A CV (curriculum vitae) is more common when applying for jobs in academia (where the applicant has a graduate degree). However, this can vary depending on the field. Advisors in your department and in Career Services can help guide you on the best format to use depending on your experience and field.

• Resume resources from UMN's Career and Internship Services
• Resume Guide from UMN's College of Liberal Arts
• Undergraduate Resume Guide from UMN's College of Science and Engineering

Colorado State University's Writing Studio has resources on a variety of science writing assignments:

• the sections of scientific papers
• review essays for biological sciences
• environmental policy statements
• poster sessions
• engineering technical reports
• engineering proposals
• engineering project notebooks

In technical science writing we use a lot of common phrases. Browse this list of phrases frequently used in engineering writing (which could also be useful in other science writing).

To write a strong paper, you need a strong thesis statement. This is the main point of your entire paper. You can find advice for writing thesis statements at:

• How to Write a Thesis Statement from Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services
• Thesis Statements from UNC Chapel Hill's Writing Center
• Thesis Statements from Colorado State University's Writing Studio

Need help thinking of a good title for your paper? The UMN Center for Writing has advice on writing effective titles.