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Writing Centre Online Resource Guide

Welcome!

Introduction

A university like Dalhousie is comprised of a hundred or more academic communities, usually referred to as disciplines or sub-disciplines. Each discipline is different in the topics they find interesting, the way they go about studying that interest, and the kinds of knowledge that they see as important. The writing done in the disciplines reflects these different interests and world views. An academic English paper isn’t written as a biologist would write a paper, nor is a history paper acceptable in a business discipline such as organizational behaviour. Each discipline, then, establishes the way “the academic paper” (essay, research paper, discussion paper, etc.) will present the material. These pages will provide advice and examples to help you figure out what is appropriate for each of your courses.