writing

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Style Guides

Brown Library has copies of the following style guides available at the reference desk on the main floor. These books do not check out. Please ask about style guides not listed here.

• The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises - 7th ed., 2009
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association - 6th ed., 2010
• The Chicago Manual of Style - 2003

Handouts

• APA Style for Electronic Databases
• MLA Style for Electronic Databases
• English 111 Sample Worksheet
• Formatting the Works Cited Page in Microsoft Word (MLA)
• Formatting the References Page in Microsoft Word (APA)
• Using a Style Guide
• Plagiarism
• Copyright

Citation Builders

Fill in a form with the information from your source. A citation will automatically be generated. Formatting is not always perfect style, so use these citation builders at your own risk. 

• Citation Builder - by North Carolina State University Libraries, in addition to a citation, the form will generate a parenthetical or in-text reference.
• Citation Machine - by the Landmark Project

Websites for Style

• APA & MLA Style - by Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL). Explains how to write a research paper in both APA and MLA formats. Shows how to format the paper, how to cite sources within the text, and how to do the works cited page. Sample papers are given.
• APA Style - by the American Psychological Association (APA). Click on "FAQ's, Style Tips, or Electronic References."
• APA, MLA, Chicago & CBE Style Sponsored by Bedford St. Martin's. Covers finding and documenting sources. Provides sample papers.
• APA, MLA, Chicago & CBE Style: Electronic - By Bedford St. Martin's. Covers electronic formats for all major styles. Does not cover other types of sources.

WebSites for Writing

• VWCC English Department -
• OWL at Perdue - Writing about poetry & literature, writing descriptions, writing the thesis statement and writing persuasively. How to plan, organize and edit the paper.
• Stone Writing Center at Del Mar College - Handouts for grammer, composition, literature, and business writing. Under composition find handouts for writing the persuasive essay, cause/effect essay, description essay, and more.
• The Writing Center at Metropolitan State University - How to do different types of writing assignments, such as the argument essay, critical analysis, response paper, comparison paper, interview report, book review, case study and personal journal.