Online Resources

Modern Language Association (MLA) style handout.

MLA provides a standard method of academic documentation that is often used in the humanities (except history) and the fine arts. For more MLA help, use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2003), 6th ed., or visit the Writing and Research Center. MLA

American Psychological Association (APA) style handout.

APA documentation style is most often used in the social sciences, including government, psychology, sociology, and education. For more APA help, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition (2001), or visit the Writing and Research Center.  APA

Chicago Manual of Style handouts.

For more help, see the Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.), the official CMS website, or visit the Writing and Research Center. The Chicago Manual offers two systems of documenting sources:

• The humanities style uses notes and a bibliography. This style is used primarily in literature, history, and the arts. Bibliographic information is presented in notes and, often, a bibliography. For more information, see our Chicago notes handout.

• Scholars in the physical, natural, and social sciences tend to prefer to use the author-date system. This style, in which sources are cited in the text with complete bibliographic information provided in a list of references is decribed in more detail in our Chicago author-date handout.

Penrose Library Research Help
The Penrose Library provides services to assist users in the use of library and information systems, both inside Penrose and beyond its walls. Online reference questions and individual consultations are available with reference librarians, to learn more go to the Penrose research page.

Multimodal Composition: Invention Handout
Texts always have at least a visual component. The font, spacing and format influence the way in which a text is read and interpreted. Considering how the visual components of an essay or presentation interact becomes even more important when incorporating images, audio streams and videos. The mixing of these various elements becomes a multimodal text that can be analyzed alongside the work's content. For more information about multimodal composition, please view the Invention Handout.

For additional information check out these online resources:

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Handouts on a wide range of writing topics: the writing process; professional, technical, and scientific writing; academic writing; grammar and mechanics; and English as a second language.

Career Services @ Virginia Tech “Job Search Tools & Skills”

Detailed advice on writing job search documents such as résumé’s, cvs, and cover letters. Includes plenty of examples.

University of Texas at Austin’s Virgil project 
 A choose-your-own-adventure-style site that guides you through completing a writing project, basing its advice on where you are in the project and what your individual concerns are. Designed and written by undergraduate students, it’s an excellent resource for those middle-of-the-night writing crises.

Michigan State University’s Getting Started: Analytical Writing in the Humanities 
 An interactive tool that guides writers through the first stages of writing a paper in the humanities.

University of Wisconsin Madison’s APA website

Purdue’s MLA site

Science Writing Resources

A list of different online and print resources for engineering and science majors who have to write lab abstracts, lab reports, science journal articles, and other documents. Science Resources

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