Academic Writing Skills Guide
Maastricht University School of Business and Economics
A Guide to Academic Writing Skills
Second edition
Robert Wilkinson Jeannette Hommes
©2010 Robert Wilkinson and Jeannette Hommes, Maastricht University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the copyright owner, or, as the cases may be, the publishers, beyond the exceptions provided for in the Copyright Law.
"The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write." Gabriel Fielding (British novelist 1916-1986)
Table of contents
Preface 1. Introduction 2. The planning process 2.1. The planning activities 2.2. The planning outline 3. Structuring 3.1. The introduction 3.1.1. The background information 3.1.2. The purpose statement 3.1.3. The short outline in the introduction 3.1.4. The organization of paragraphs in the introduction 3.2. The middle sections of your paper 3.3. The discussion and conclusions 3.4. The organization of a paragraph 3.4.1. The topic sentence 3.4.2. The elaboration and closure 4. Citation of sources 4.1. The importance of citation 4.2. How to cite information from other sources 4.2.1. Paraphrasing and generalizing 4.2.2. Direct quotes 4.2.3. Placing the citation in the sentence or in parentheses 4.3. In-text citations 4.3.1. One source by multiple authors 4.3.2. One source with no author 4.3.3. One source with no author 4.3.4. Two or more sources 4.3.5. Personal communications and entire websites 4.4. The list of references 4.4.1. General principles governing elements of reference entries 4.4.2. Examples of references 5. Manuscript presentation 5.1. Format requirements 5.1.1. The title page 5.1.2. The title 5.1.3. Table of contents 5.1.4. Sections of a paper 5.1.5. General format requirements 5.2. Footnotes 5.3. Tables
A Guide to Academic Writing Skills
Second edition
Robert Wilkinson Jeannette Hommes
©2010 Robert Wilkinson and Jeannette Hommes, Maastricht University. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the copyright owner, or, as the cases may be, the publishers, beyond the exceptions provided for in the Copyright Law.
"The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write." Gabriel Fielding (British novelist 1916-1986)
Table of contents
Preface 1. Introduction 2. The planning process 2.1. The planning activities 2.2. The planning outline 3. Structuring 3.1. The introduction 3.1.1. The background information 3.1.2. The purpose statement 3.1.3. The short outline in the introduction 3.1.4. The organization of paragraphs in the introduction 3.2. The middle sections of your paper 3.3. The discussion and conclusions 3.4. The organization of a paragraph 3.4.1. The topic sentence 3.4.2. The elaboration and closure 4. Citation of sources 4.1. The importance of citation 4.2. How to cite information from other sources 4.2.1. Paraphrasing and generalizing 4.2.2. Direct quotes 4.2.3. Placing the citation in the sentence or in parentheses 4.3. In-text citations 4.3.1. One source by multiple authors 4.3.2. One source with no author 4.3.3. One source with no author 4.3.4. Two or more sources 4.3.5. Personal communications and entire websites 4.4. The list of references 4.4.1. General principles governing elements of reference entries 4.4.2. Examples of references 5. Manuscript presentation 5.1. Format requirements 5.1.1. The title page 5.1.2. The title 5.1.3. Table of contents 5.1.4. Sections of a paper 5.1.5. General format requirements 5.2. Footnotes 5.3. Tables
Citations: American Psychological Association. (2010). The publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.