Writing for Specific Disciplines

1. Short guides to writing for specific disciplines

While some attributes of academic writing remain constant across disciplines, others vary to meet standards and expectations of specific fields. The short guides below offer tips for writing within specific academic disciplines.

This list will continue to grow. If you would like to see a guide for your specific discipline, or if you are a faculty member or graduate student who would like to contribute information to this site, please contact us.

1. Anthropology (UNC)
2. Art History (UNC)
3. Biology (Marquette)
4. Business (Purdue)
5. Communications (UNC)
6. Drama (UNC)
7. Economics (Duke)
8. History (Duke)
9. Literature (Purdue)
10. Music (Duke)
11. Philosophy (Princeton)
12. Political Science (Duke)
13. Psychology (U Penn)
14. Public Policy: Op-Eds and Memos (Duke)
15. Religion (Dartmouth)
16. Science Writing, General (Duke)
17. Sociology (UNC)
18. Visual Studies

       a. Overview: Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy (Duke)

       b. Writing about Comics and Graphic Novels (Duke)

       c. Writing about Film (Duke)

       d. Writing about Paintings (Duke)

       e. Writing about Photography (Duke)

       f. Using PowerPoint and Keynote Effectively (Duke)

       g. Creating Scientific Poster Presentations (Duke)

       h. Crafting and Evaluating Websites  (Duke)

19. Women's Studies (Wesleyan)

2. Discipline-specific formats

For annoted, formatted examples of documents in the humanities, natural and applied sciences, and business, consider also browsing Bedford-St. Martin's Model Documents Gallery.

3. Help from live human beings: Librarians

If you need help researching a paper for a specific discipline, consider contacting a subject librarian. Alternatively, you can request one-on-one help from an expert through the Duke University Library website.