Writing for
Philosophy and Religion
WRITING SERVICES - UNCW - DEPAOLO HALL, 1ST FLOOR - 962-7857
Basics
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Style Manual: The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed., 2010.
Online style manual reference: Purdue OWL Chicago Manual of Style: 16th Ed.
Preferred writing guide: Strunk & White, The Elements of Style: 4th Ed. 1999.
Writing Style Suggestions
 Always explicitly state reasons for the claims you make in your essay.
 Do not fluff your first sentence, get to your point.
 Use first person to keep your meaning clear and to express purpose or a decision.
 Many words have specialized meanings in PAR, so do not use a dictionary to define
terms or as an information authority.
 Do not write your paper as a dialogue or story.
 Try to anticipate objections to your point of view; it is best to bring up possible
objections in your paper.
Basic Format/Organization of a paper
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Body
 Conclusion/Discussion
 Bibliography
Suggested Databases
 Academic Search Complete
 Arts and Humanities Citation Index
 Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective
 JSTOR
 Philosopher’s Index
 Sociological Abstracts
Links for Handout References
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 Purdue OWL, Chicago Manual of Style, 16 Ed.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/
 Strunk And White, The Elements of Style (free online text)
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
 Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper, James Pryor, Princeton University
http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html
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Randal Library eResources/Databases by Subject
Created By: Jazmin Capezza