Academic Writing & Publishing Advice: Top 7 US & UK University Websites

Academic writing and publishing begets many myths and questions, especially among young researchers. Many concepts in academic publishing, the resources to be used, and the guidelines to follow, can be opaque, especially for students and non-native English researchers that aim to publish in scholarly English journals.

One easy way to obtain information about the academic publishing process is to search online. Although there are tons of reference materials easily accessible online, the critical issue is choosing authentic reference sites. US/UK universities fill this requirement by providing a wealth of expert advice, writing resources, and tools that are currently available on this topic in English.

Listed below is our compilation of top universities in the US and UK that provide researchers and scientists with useful scholarly and academic writing and publishing advice and resources.

US Universities

1. Harvard Kennedy School

Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) has compiled a list of many essential writing resources, books, journals, and sites for writing scholarly articles. These links offer advice on a range of topics, such as style, grammar, formatting, essay structure, citations, etc., which can be helpful to faculty members as well as younger researchers. HKS also provides necessary guidelines on how to cite internet sources and how to avoid plagiarism. The HKS library also provides beneficial links for concise writing, bibliographies, freelance resources, and much more. You can also get information about journal rankings and evaluation, how to conduct a literature review, etc.

2. Duke University

The Duke University Graduate School offers scientific writing resources that teach you how to communicate effectively through writing. It includes online course materials that focus on effective communication and not on pure correctness, such as grammar and punctuation. This resource provides different lessons, each composed of principles, examples, and a worksheet. The target audience for these lessons is primarily students and budding researchers. The prime objective of these lessons is to help scientists become better writers, thus shrinking the gap between the general public and academia.

3. North Dakota State University

The North Dakota State University (NDSU) Center for Writers aims to assist students, faculty, and staff at all levels by offering them free writing advice and tools. The accessible resources include tips on the writing process, which involve prewriting and invention, making a claim/thesis statement, writing an outline, effective conclusions, proofreading, etc. They also offer advice for overcoming writer’s block. Each of the above-mentioned points is elaborated with sub-topics that are linked to books, other university websites, writing centers, etc. NSDU also offers valuable information on citing sources using style manuals and how to avoid plagiarism, which will help students when writing dissertations. Relevant tips on academic publishing in open access journals and publishing undergraduate research are also covered. Overall, the NDSU Center for Writers is an excellent source for professors and scientific writers because it covers a wide array of issues that researchers may face when writing, and it provides essential tips for overcoming such writing issues.

UK Universities

4. University of Bath

The University of Bath library provides resources on referencing, plagiarism, and copyrights. A tutorial on how to use EndNote for referencing is offered by the university, which is very helpful for researchers who wish to learn how to organize and sort bibliographies for publications. The library also offers suitable guidelines on citing and referencing along with relevant style sheets (name/date referencing stylesheets and numeric stylesheets) in a convenient pdf format. The site also provides very useful info on plagiarism and how to avoid it .

5. University of Manchester

The University of Manchester has implemented an ‘Academic Phrasebank,’ which is a powerful and essential resource for academics. The Academic Phrasebank states that “It aims to provide you with examples of some of the phraseological ‘nuts and bolts’ of writing organized according to the main sections of a research paper or dissertation”.

The website menu is categorized based on the components involved in the scientific paper, including the introduction, referring to sources, describing methods, results and conclusion, etc. Each category lists numerous phrases for communicating effectively. For example, for the introduction section of a paper, the site lists some phrases that can be used to establish the importance of your research topic.

The Academic Phrasebank also has a General Language Function list, which provides suitable phrases under subtopics, such as being critical, being cautious, classifying and listing, compare and contrast, defining terms, and much more. The examples in each of these sections will be a useful resource for any researcher who is trying to find the right words for their article.

In addition to those listed above, two additional universities in the UK that offer beneficial scientific writing advice, publishing tips, and resources include:

6. Imperial College of London

This resource provides links to external helpful sources as well as information about reference management, plagiarism, and copyrights.

7. University of Leeds

This is another great site with helpful tips on everything from editing and proofreading your own work to academic style and notemaking.

The list of universities compiled above offers readers significant resources to obtain advice on all aspects of academia, including writing and publishing your research.

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About the Author:

Lavina Miranda has a Master of Science in biotechnology from St. Xavier’s College with expertise in molecular biology and microbiology. After graduation, she worked as a content designer and E-tutor. To pursue her passion for scientific research, she then joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2014 where her work included reprogramming probiotics to become viable vessels for the treatment of superbug infections. In her current role as a researcher at Kuwait University, her project focuses on the effect of garlic ( Allium sativum ) on the expression of insulin m-RNA and polypeptides in the tissues of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Apart from research, she also enjoys exploring new places, socializing with people from different cultural backgrounds, and dancing.