Writing Style & Citations

Write the body of your manuscript (including the chapters, footnotes/endnotes, bibliography and appendices) in a style appropriate for your field of study or your school-specific guidelines. The exceptions are page margins, page numbering, and page order, which you will format according to your school’s requirements.

If you have questions about which writing style to use for your manuscript, please contact your advisor or program coordinator.

Style & Citation Resources

These online guides provide general information about the most commonly used writing styles. For further information on style guides or a particular style not listed in one of the links below, please consult a Reference Librarian for assistance.

• Purdue Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL). For links to specific writing styles or help topics, refer to the Purdue OWL sitemap.
• Citation Style Guides
• Citation Tools: includes links to RefWorks, Zotero and Mendeley
• Research: From selecting a topic to writing the bibliography

GW Writing Center Services

The GW Writing Center offers individual consultation sessions for undergraduate and graduate students at all stages of the writing process.

If you are working on your thesis or dissertation, writing consultants can help you evaluate your manuscript’s organization, development, voice or citations. If you feel confident about your content, writing consultants can show you how to edit for style or clarity.

For large projects like theses or dissertations, we recommend that you partner with the same consultant weekly or bimonthly in a series of regular, 50 minute appointments. You can sign up two weeks in advance to meet with the same consultant.

Distance appointments are available via Zoom for online students; face-to-face appointments are recommended when possible.

Other Resources

Fee-based Copy Editors: The library’s Freelancing guide identifies websites listing freelancers for hire and help wanted posts seeking freelancers, including copy editors.