Here you will find guidelines for formatting your essays, writing best practices, and links to assignment descriptions.
David Livingstone’s steamboat, the Ma-Robert, on the Zambezi River; crocodiles in the foreground. Lithograph. Wellcome Collection.
Follow proper citation practices
In-text or footnote citations are used to ensure proper attribution of ideas. Proper citational practices help your reader find and access the texts you have used in constructing your own work. Citations can be tricky, as practices range across style guides. For help on formatting citations, try Purdue OWL.
Keep formatting clear and consistent
Your essays must be formatted according to MLA or Chicago Manual conventions, including a works cited page. Use a 12 pt, standard font (such as Times New Roman or Garamond), double spaced, with one inch margins.
Ground yourself in the text
Use and analyze evidence from the text to support your claims. There are several ways you can use evidence: quoting, paraphrasing, and summary. Paraphrase and summary can be helpful, but when you close read a text, you must be sure to quote directly! You will accompany the quotation with a clear and thorough explanation of your thought process in using the quotation, drawing the reader’s attention to the aspect of the text on which you are focused. Don’t assume that what you see is obvious to the reader; spelling it out or “hand-holding” the reader can also help you see gaps in your own logic.
Need writing help? Try these:
University of Michigan Sweetland Center for Writing
Sweetland Center Writing Guides
You can also find linked files on Canvas (under the Files tab), along with self-guided modules (under Modules tab) from the UM library on conducting research & evaluating sources, and activities on outlining and revising your argumentative statement (also under Files) .
I am always happy to talk with you about your writing! Drop by my office hours, set up an appointment for a guaranteed time slot, or send me an email.
Ecological Empire 