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Academic Writing & Research

A clearer argument. A stronger research process.

Develop your own academic voice with structure, methodology, editing, document formatting and source-verification guidance that respects institutional rules.

Researcher writing notes in a notebook while working with a laptop

Areas of assistance

Develop an argument that remains your own. Guidance can review structure, source quality, methodology, citation matching and document presentation against your institutional brief. Editing identifies opportunities to improve clarity while preserving authorship. Bring your draft, rubric and the rules that define permitted external assistance; no sources or research data will be invented.

Topics we can explore

  • Essay writing and structure
  • Academic reports
  • Critical analysis
  • Reflective writing
  • Case study analysis
  • Academic writing guidance
  • Literature review guidance
  • Research proposal development
  • Dissertation planning
  • Thesis planning
  • Search strategies
  • Research questions
  • Qualitative research
  • Quantitative research
  • Research methodology
  • Research ethics
  • Academic integrity
  • Harvard
  • APA 7th Edition
  • MLA 9th Edition
  • Chicago
  • IEEE
  • Vancouver
  • OSCOLA
  • AMA
  • ACS
  • Microsoft Word formatting
  • Arial
  • Times New Roman
  • Calibri
  • Aptos
  • Font size and line spacing
  • Page margins
  • Headings and subheadings
  • Page numbering
  • Tables and figures
  • Figure captions
  • Table captions
  • Table of contents
  • Appendices
  • University-specific requirements
  • Academic editing
  • Proofreading
  • Research posters
  • Academic presentations
  • Slide narrative
  • Language consistency

Typical learning or professional deliverables

  • Explanations and practical walkthroughs matched to your current work
  • Structured feedback and a review checklist
  • Agreed documentation or reference examples

Deliverables depend on the agreed scope. Academic work remains your own; engineering and financial guidance does not replace qualified professional approval.

Choose your area of focus.

CHECK THE SOURCE. FOLLOW THE BRIEF.

Referencing, explained clearly.

These introductory examples use Charles Darwin’s 1859 book as an illustration. They demonstrate citation mechanics, not a recommendation to cite this source for your topic. Always verify the edition you actually read, the required style edition and your institution’s guide.

HarvardBusiness, social sciences and many university courses

In-text citations

Author and year in the text; add a page locator for direct quotations.

Reference list or bibliography

An alphabetical reference list, usually ordered by the author’s surname.

There is no single universal Harvard specification. Punctuation, italics, access dates and publisher/location rules depend on your institution.

Example in-text citation

(Darwin, 1859, p. 10)

Example reference / bibliography entry

Darwin, C. (1859) On the origin of species. London: John Murray.

Style guidance
APA 7th EditionPsychology, education and social sciences

In-text citations

Author–date citations, with a page number for a direct quotation.

Reference list or bibliography

An alphabetical reference list with hanging indents.

Book titles use sentence case and italics. Publisher locations are omitted; include a DOI when applicable.

Example in-text citation

(Darwin, 1859, p. 10)

Example reference / bibliography entry

Darwin, C. (1859). On the origin of species. John Murray.

Style guidance
MLA 9th EditionLiterature, languages and humanities

In-text citations

Author and page in parentheses, normally without a year or comma.

Reference list or bibliography

An alphabetical Works Cited list built from the core elements of the source.

Book titles are italicised and use title case. Containers describe sources published within larger works.

Example in-text citation

(Darwin 10)

Example reference / bibliography entry

Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species. John Murray, 1859.

Style guidance
ChicagoHistory and humanities; author–date also used in sciences and social sciences

In-text citations

Choose notes–bibliography or author–date according to the brief. The example uses a numbered footnote.

Reference list or bibliography

Notes–bibliography usually combines numbered notes and an alphabetical bibliography; author–date uses a reference list.

Keep the chosen system consistent. A note uses natural name order; a bibliography inverts the first author’s name.

Example footnote after a superscript marker

Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (John Murray, 1859), 10.

Example reference / bibliography entry

Darwin, Charles. On the Origin of Species. John Murray, 1859.

Style guidance
IEEEEngineering, computing and electronics

In-text citations

Numbered citations in square brackets, assigned by first appearance and reused for that source.

Reference list or bibliography

A numbered reference list in citation order.

Use author initials before surnames and source-specific punctuation. Add a page locator where appropriate.

Example in-text citation

[1, p. 10]

Example reference / bibliography entry

[1] C. Darwin, On the Origin of Species. London, U.K.: John Murray, 1859.

Style guidance
VancouverMedicine and health sciences

In-text citations

A numbered sequence in order of first citation. Brackets, parentheses or superscripts follow the institution or journal’s specification.

Reference list or bibliography

Numbered references in citation order; journal names commonly use standard abbreviations.

Record authors, title and publication details in the required order. NLM Citing Medicine provides source-type examples.

Example in-text citation

[1]

Example reference / bibliography entry

1. Darwin C. On the origin of species. London: John Murray; 1859.

Style guidance
OSCOLALaw and legal scholarship

In-text citations

Superscript footnote markers lead to legal authorities or secondary sources, with pinpoint references where needed.

Reference list or bibliography

Longer work may require a bibliography and separate tables of cases and legislation; follow the prescribed edition.

Use legal authority formats for cases and legislation. For secondary books, the note uses natural name order and a pinpoint without “p.”.

Example footnote after a superscript marker

Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species (John Murray 1859) 10.

Example reference / bibliography entry

Darwin C, On the Origin of Species (John Murray 1859)

Style guidance
AMAMedicine, clinical research and health publications

In-text citations

Superscript Arabic numbers identify sources in order of first citation.

Reference list or bibliography

A numbered reference list, with author surnames followed by initials.

Use the journal’s instructions for source types, journal abbreviations and placement of citation markers around punctuation.

Example in-text citation

1

Example reference / bibliography entry

1. Darwin C. On the Origin of Species. John Murray; 1859.

Style guidance
ACSChemistry and related sciences

In-text citations

ACS permits numbered and author–date approaches; use the form specified by the journal or institution. The example uses a superscript.

Reference list or bibliography

Order the reference list to match the selected citation system.

Book references use author initials, an italicised title and publication details; article formats also require journal metadata.

Example in-text citation

1

Example reference / bibliography entry

1. Darwin, C. On the Origin of Species; John Murray: London, 1859.

Style guidance

Reference-management tools

Use software to organise sources and insert citations, then check its metadata and output against the original publications.

Zotero

Collect and organise sources, check metadata and insert citations into documents.

Explore Zotero

Mendeley

Organise research PDFs and references, annotate sources and manage citation information.

Explore Mendeley

EndNote

Maintain reference libraries and use output styles for citations and bibliographies.

Explore EndNote

Formatting is more than a font.

Font selection

Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri and Aptos are typefaces. Use the font and size specified by your university or professional template; font choice does not determine the citation style.

  • Font family and font size
  • Consistent body and heading typography
  • Readable captions and table text

Document layout

Formatting governs how the document is organised and presented. Check each requirement against the actual brief rather than assuming one universal layout.

  • Line spacing and paragraph spacing
  • Page margins and section breaks
  • Headings and subheadings using Word styles
  • Page numbering and front-matter sections
  • Tables and figures with captions
  • Automatic table of contents
  • Appendices and cross-references
  • University-specific formatting requirements

Citation and reference style

Citation styles govern attribution: author names, dates, numbering, punctuation and the organisation of the reference list. They are separate from the choice of font and page layout.

  • Match every citation to a real source
  • Verify names, dates, titles and identifiers
  • Use the prescribed style and edition
  • Check automated reference-manager output manually

Microsoft Word guidance can cover styles, captions, automatic contents and section-based numbering. Supply the template, rubric and university requirements so feedback follows your actual brief.

Document formatting guidance

We support research skills, editing, citation verification and original reference examples. We do not invent sources, fabricate research data or provide assessed work for submission as someone else’s own.

Questions about Academic Writing & Research

What is the difference between editing and writing my submission?

Editing and feedback help you improve your own text and reasoning within institutional rules. We do not provide assessed work for you to submit as your own.

Which referencing guide takes priority?

Use the style and edition prescribed by your institution or journal. Harvard variants in particular differ between institutions.

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