For everyone who writes from sources: how to find them, cite them, know they are real, and hand in a paper that does what was asked. Each guide opens with the answer, and is checked against the style manuals.

Citing and referencing

October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
20 facts about citation, from Callimachus to ChatGPT
Twenty documented facts about citation, from Gibbon's footnotes and the first citation index to sleeping beauties, phantom references and AI.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Academic writing in Arabic: thesis structure, style and terms
What Arab universities' own thesis guides ask of academic writing in Arabic: parts, style, fonts, page letters, citation systems and translated terms.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
How to transcribe and cite a handwritten manuscript
Diplomatic, semi-diplomatic and normalised transcription from archive and edition guidance, and how to cite a manuscript in APA, MLA and Chicago.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Persian citation styles: APA in Persian, Solar Hijri dates, names
How Iranian universities and journals write APA in Persian, convert Solar Hijri years, romanise Persian names and mark Persian sources (in Persian).
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at Universiti Malaya: UM APA 7th edition rules
Universiti Malaya referencing from the UM Library APA 7th guide and thesis guidelines: Malay names, faculty styles, a worked example and EdCitation fixes.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Right-to-left scripts in a reference list: Hebrew, Urdu, Persian
Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Urdu entries in an English reference list: APA, MLA and Chicago, the Library of Congress tables, and right-to-left lines in Word.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
The papers with the most authors, and how to cite them
The documented records for the most authors on one paper, from the 5,154-name Higgs paper to COVIDSurg's 15,025, and how APA, Vancouver and IEEE cite them.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Translations that changed scholarship, and how to cite them
Famous translations in history, from Baghdad and Toledo to Euclid in Chinese and Darwin in German, each from its source, and how to cite the translation you read.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
University of the Philippines referencing: APA, MLA, thesis rules
University of the Philippines referencing by college: UPLB, UPOU, UP Manila and UP Diliman rules, an APA 7 example, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
AIOU referencing style: APA at Allama Iqbal Open University
AIOU's referencing rules from its own manuals, programme by programme: APA 7, APA 6 and Harvard, a worked reference list, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
APA format in the Philippines: university theses and SHS research
Which citation style Philippine universities ask for, from named guides, with CHED thesis rules, DepEd senior high school research and similarity limits.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Arden University Harvard referencing: the AU Harvard rules
Arden University's AU Harvard rules from its own guides: et al. from three authors, online sources, accessed dates, APA, OSCOLA and a worked list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Are citation generators accurate? What the studies found
Every published test of citation generators, reference managers and database cite buttons we could read: tools, sample, errors found, and the faults that recur.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Are citation generators bad for students? Our view and the fix
Our view on whether citation generators make students worse at citing: what studies and university libraries say, a table of faults and fixes, and two free checks.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
ASU APA format and citation styles at Arizona State University
Which citation style Arizona State University asks for by discipline, ASU Library's APA 7 rules, a worked reference list, and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Athabasca University APA and MLA: how to cite at AU
Athabasca University's own APA and MLA rules, from its Library and Write Site: study guides, course packs, forum posts, et al., the AU title page and a worked list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Capella APA format: citing at Capella University in APA 7
Capella's APA 7 rules from its own library and Writing Center pages: courseroom sources, outdated FAQs, a worked reference list and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Citing at community college: MLA or APA, course by course
Which citation style community college courses use, from ten colleges' own guides: English 101 in MLA 9, nursing in APA 7, dual enrollment and transfer.
Undergraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Citing sources on slides and in speaker notes: APA, MLA, Chicago
What APA, MLA and Chicago say about citing on slides: in-text citations, the references slide, image credits, speaker notes and citing a presentation itself.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Coventry University referencing: APA 7 and CU Harvard guide
Coventry University's APA 7th edition rules from its library guide, CU Harvard for pre-2020 starters, a worked reference list and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Delhi University referencing style: APA 7 and department rules
Which referencing style the University of Delhi asks for, department by department, with DU's house styles worked through and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Dhaka University referencing style: APA 7, APA 6th, thesis rules
How to reference at Dhaka University from its own documents: APA 7 in Marketing, APA 6th in Clinical Psychology theses, plagiarism rules, worked examples.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
GCU APA format and style guide: citing at Grand Canyon University
How Grand Canyon University wants APA 7: its own style guide and templates, title page, Halo course material, the Bible, and which courses use MLA or Turabian.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
How to cite research in a policy brief: footnotes or references
How government and think-tank guides cite evidence in a policy brief: footnotes or author-date, how many sources, government reports and evidence grades.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
How to cite sources in a PowerPoint or consulting deck
Cite sources on slides and in consulting decks: source lines and footnotes as HBS sets them, APA and Harvard slide rules, chart data, pitch decks, a worked footer.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
IGNOU project referencing style: APA, programme by programme
IGNOU's referencing rules from its own project handbooks: APA by programme, et al., bibliography heads, study material, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
King Saud University citation style: APA, IEEE, thesis guide
King Saud University referencing from its own documents: IEEE, APA 7 or Elsevier-Harvard by college, the thesis rules, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
King's College London referencing guide: KCL Harvard and APA
King's College London referencing from its own library guide: the five styles, KCL Harvard and nursing APA rules, a worked list and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Leeds Harvard referencing: how to reference at Leeds
Leeds Harvard and Leeds Numeric from the University of Leeds Library's own pages: each school's style, et al., accessed dates, a worked list and what to change.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Liberty University APA format and Turabian: citing at Liberty
Liberty University's citation styles school by school, its own APA 7 and Turabian rules, a worked reference page, and what to fix after a citation tool.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
LUMS citation style: how to cite at LUMS, with APA examples
LUMS citation style from its Library pages, plagiarism policy and handbooks: the styles linked, the rules LUMS sets, an APA 7 example and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Massey University referencing: APA 7, OWLL and other styles
Massey University referencing from its own pages: the styles, Massey's APA 7 rules, te reo Māori and NZ government sources, a worked example, and what to fix.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 11 min read
McGill citation style: APA 7, Chicago, MLA and the McGill Guide
McGill citation styles from McGill Library's own guides: which subject uses which, its APA 7 rules, a worked example and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Northumbria University referencing: Harvard Cite Them Right
Northumbria University's Harvard (Cite Them Right) and APA 7 rules from its Skills Plus guide, with et al., DOIs, accessed dates and a worked list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
NOUN referencing style: APA format, projects and course materials
NOUN referencing from its own pages: the APA edition, GST 104's rules, project references, NOUN course materials, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
NWU Harvard referencing: the North-West University guide
NWU Harvard referencing from North-West University's library guide: its rules, the styles by faculty, a worked list, and what to change after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Open University Harvard referencing: Cite Them Right at the OU
The Open University's Harvard rules from its own library guide: module materials, et al., page numbers, Law and Classical Studies, and a worked reference list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Purdue Global APA format: citing at Purdue University Global
Purdue Global's APA 7 rules from its own Writing Center: font, title page, Brightspace posts, course resources, self-citation, and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Qatar University citation style: APA, thesis rules, departments
Qatar University citation rules from its Library guide and Graduate Studies thesis documents: styles by department, the APA default, Arabic lists and an example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at Anglia Ruskin University: ARU Harvard explained
ARU Harvard from Anglia Ruskin's own library guide: Cite Them Right 13th edition, et al., accessed dates, a worked example and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at Curtin University: APA 7th, Chicago, Vancouver
Curtin referencing from the Library's UniSkills guides: its five styles, Curtin APA 7th rules, a worked example, and what to fix by hand after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at Deakin University: APA 7, Vancouver, Harvard
Deakin referencing from its own guides: the style each faculty uses, Deakin APA7 and Vancouver rules, a worked example, and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at Kenyan and Ghanaian universities: APA to Harvard
The referencing styles Kenyan and Ghanaian universities ask for, from their own thesis guides: APA at Moi and JKUAT, Harvard at KNUST, footnotes in law.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at Malaysian and Singapore universities: APA, Harvard
Which referencing styles NUS, NTU, SMU, UM, UiTM, USM, UTM and UKM ask for, by faculty, and how their guides cite local laws, government papers and Malay titles.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at Monash University: APA 7, Harvard, Vancouver
Monash referencing from the Library's own guides: its seven styles, Monash APA 7th, Harvard and Vancouver rules, worked examples and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at NUS: NUS citation style, APA and thesis format
NUS citation rules from NUS Libraries and department guides: the nine styles, NUS APA examples, thesis format, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at the University of Auckland: APA 7th and QuickCite
University of Auckland referencing from QuickCite: styles by faculty, APA 7th rules, te reo Māori and NZ law sources, and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at the University of Melbourne: APA 7 and Re:cite
University of Melbourne referencing from Re:cite: its styles by faculty, Melbourne's APA 7 rules, a worked example and what to fix by hand after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing at the University of Queensland: UQ APA 7th guide
UQ referencing from the Library's own guides: which style each school names, UQ APA 7th and Vancouver rules, a worked example and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing in a new academic system: what changes abroad
What changes when you study in a new academic system: common knowledge, quotation, similarity checks and collusion, where each rule is written, and whom to ask.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Referencing on English-taught degrees in Europe: styles and rules
The referencing styles English-taught degrees in Germany, the Netherlands and the Nordics ask for, from 14 universities' own guides, and how each handles plagiarism.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
RMIT referencing: RMIT Harvard, APA 7th and Easy Cite
RMIT referencing from the Library's Easy Cite guide: its seven styles, RMIT Harvard and APA 7th rules, a worked example and what to fix after a generator.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Sheffield Hallam referencing: APA 7, not SHU Harvard
Sheffield Hallam's APA 7 from its own library guide: et al., retrieval dates, article numbers, subject styles, a worked list and what to change by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
SNHU APA format: citing at Southern New Hampshire University
How Southern New Hampshire University wants APA 7: the Shapiro Library's rules, Brightspace and database sources, nursing's Pro Tips, and when MLA or Chicago.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
The scholarly conversation: what it means and how to join it
What the scholarly conversation means, from Burke's parlor to the ACRL's 2026 frame, and how citing, signal phrases and synthesis put your voice in it.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
UAEU citation style: APA, MLA and Chicago at UAE University
UAEU citation rules from its Libraries' guide: styles by subject, Arabic footnotes, thesis rules, an APA 7 example and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
UBC citation style guide: APA 7, MLA and Chicago at UBC
How to cite at UBC from UBC Library's own guides: which style each subject uses, UBC's APA rules, Indigenous Elders, a worked list and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
UCL Harvard referencing: the UCL referencing guide explained
UCL Harvard from UCL Library's own guide: which subjects use which style, et al., page numbers, DOIs, a worked reference list and what to change by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
UGC plagiarism regulations 2018 and referencing rules in India
The UGC plagiarism regulations 2018 clause by clause: the four levels, what the count leaves out, penalties, panels, Shodhganga, and the styles universities use.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
UMGC APA format: citing at University of Maryland Global Campus
How UMGC wants APA 7: the library's rules page by page, its format for classroom material, which courses use MLA or Chicago, and a checked example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
UNILAG referencing style: APA 7th, Zoology rules, thesis format
How to reference at UNILAG from its own documents: APA 7th at the DLI, the Zoology house style, worked examples, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
UNISA referencing guide: Harvard, APA 7 and study guides
UNISA's Harvard and APA 7 rules from its own library guides: citations, the reference list, study guides, et al., AI, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
University of Birmingham referencing guide: Harvard at UoB
Birmingham Harvard from the University of Birmingham's own library guide: et al., place of publication, DOIs, accessed dates, school styles and a worked list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
University of Edinburgh referencing guide: styles and Harvard
Edinburgh referencing from the University's own library pages: which School uses which style, its BS ISO 690 Harvard, a worked example and what to change by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Ghana referencing style: APA and thesis format
University of Ghana referencing from its own pages: the UG APA guidelines, the library's APA 7th handout, thesis rules, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
University of Glasgow referencing: the Harvard (Leeds) style
The University of Glasgow Library's Harvard (Leeds) rules: et al. from three authors, accessed dates, subject styles and a worked reference list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Manchester referencing: Harvard Manchester style
The University of Manchester's Harvard Manchester style from its library guide: et al., DOIs, accessed dates, School styles and a worked reference list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Nairobi referencing style and UoN thesis format
University of Nairobi referencing from UoN's own documents: APA 6th in Business, APA 7th in Civil Engineering, the SPS style, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Portsmouth referencing: APA 7th, not Harvard
Portsmouth's APA 7th referencing from its own library guide: et al., dates, page numbers, a worked list, and the styles set for Law, Pharmacy and History.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Pretoria referencing: UP Harvard and APA 7
University of Pretoria referencing from the UP Library's own guides: APA 7, the faculty Harvards, a worked list and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Toronto citation style: APA, MLA and Chicago
The citation styles U of T faculties set, from its library's own guides: APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, IEEE and ASA, a worked APA list, and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
University of Waterloo citation style: IEEE, APA and more
University of Waterloo citation styles from its Library and engineering pages: IEEE and APA rules, a worked IEEE example, and what to fix after EdCitation.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
UNSW referencing guide: Harvard and APA 7, with examples
UNSW referencing from UNSW's own guides: its two accepted styles, UNSW Harvard and APA rules, faculty exceptions, worked examples and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
VU referencing style: APA at the Virtual University of Pakistan
The Virtual University of Pakistan's APA rules from its handbook, thesis guidelines and final project handbooks, with a worked list and what to fix by hand.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
What is the purpose of a reference, and can AI write one?
Why we cite sources, what APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard say a reference is for, what universities say about AI-written references, and how to keep the promise.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
ABNT NBR 6023 and NBR 10520, the Brazilian referencing style
ABNT NBR 6023 and NBR 10520 explained: surnames in capitals, bold titles, In:, Disponível em:, apud, a table against APA 7, and real examples.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Arabic citation styles: APA in Arabic, footnotes and names
How Arab universities and journals write APA in Arabic, when they use footnotes, how to order Arabic names and lists, and how to romanise with IJMES.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Chicago style history essay: archives, letters, primary sources
Cite books, articles, archives, letters, diaries, newspapers, maps and reprints in a Chicago author-date history essay, with worked examples and department rules.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Chinese GB/T 7714 citation style: the 2015 and 2025 rules
GB/T 7714 explained from the standard itself: numbered and author-year systems, [J] and [M] type codes, Chinese and pinyin names, and what the 2025 edition changed.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Citation in Indian universities: styles, UGC rules and names
Which citation styles Indian universities and UGC-CARE journals ask for, what the UGC's 2018 plagiarism rules say, Shodhganga, and how to write Indian names.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Cited a source you didn't read? As cited in, style by style
How to cite a source found inside another in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, why reading the original matters, and how to fix a list honestly.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Citing at US colleges: MLA or APA, by major and department
Which citation style US colleges ask for by major, from named writing centers and libraries, with how to use a writing center and what honor codes say.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Citing sources on Wikipedia, and citing Wikipedia in an essay
Wikipedia's own rules on verifiability, reliable sources and citation needed, how the Cite tool works, and what universities say about citing Wikipedia.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Dutch and Scandinavian referencing: APA, van der and æ, ø, å
How APA 7 changes in Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Icelandic, where van der files, and where æ, ø, å, ä, ö, ð and þ go in a list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Et al. and other citation rules that changed between editions
APA 6 to 7, MLA 7 to 8 to 9, Chicago 17 to 18 and Cite Them Right 12 to 13, side by side: each rule that changed, the old form, the new one and an example.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
French citation norms: NF ISO 690 and what universities ask
How French, Belgian, Swiss and Québec universities cite: NF ISO 690, footnotes with ibid., op. cit. and art. cit., APA in French, and French typography.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
From underlining to italics: how the typewriter shaped citation
Why citation titles were once underlined, the printer's mark behind the habit, and the edition in which MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian moved to italics.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
German citation styles: footnotes, Harvard and DIN ISO 690
How German, Austrian and Swiss universities cite: footnotes with Vollbeleg and Kurzbeleg, ebd., Harvard author-date, DIN ISO 690 and law's own rules.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
HEC plagiarism policy and referencing rules in Pakistan
What the HEC's 2023 plagiarism policy says about the 19% similarity index, thesis rules, HJRS, the styles Pakistani universities ask for, and Pakistani names.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Helping your child cite sources for a school project
What schools ask children to do with sources at each age, how much help is allowed, where to find safe sources, and a family plan for a first bibliography.
Secondary school
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a dissertation or thesis in six citation styles
Cite a dissertation or thesis in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver: ProQuest, repository and print copies, DOIs, and what records leave out.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a non-English source in APA, MLA, Harvard and more
Cite a source in another language in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver: original title, translation in brackets, scripts and your own translations.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to cite a podcast or video transcript, with timestamps
Cite a podcast, YouTube video, TED talk or lecture, or its transcript, in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, with time stamps.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a translated article or chapter in APA, MLA and more
Cite a translated journal article, a chapter in an edited book or a classic essay in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a translated book in APA, MLA, Harvard and more
Cite a translated book in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver: where the translator goes, the original date, editors, and one table.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite an interview transcript in APA, MLA, Harvard and more
Cite a published interview, an oral history, a transcript in a data archive, your own research interviews and a personal communication, in six styles.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite Arabic sources in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
Cite Arabic-language sources in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago and Harvard: romanised titles, translations in brackets, al- names, Hijri dates, the Quran and hadith.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite sources in a blog post, newsletter or video
How to cite sources in a blog post, newsletter, YouTube video or social media post: link the original study, credit images with TASL, and copy our examples.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to cite sources in a non-fiction book
Endnotes, author-date or notes keyed to the page: what six publishers ask of non-fiction authors, when a quotation needs permission, and how to keep source records.
ResearcherEveryone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite your own translation in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
Cite a quotation you translated yourself in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver: quotation marks, the original, machine translation and more.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to quote a foreign language source in APA, MLA and Chicago
Quote a source in another language in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver: original or translation, italics, block quotations and other scripts.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Ibid., op. cit. and loc. cit. explained, style by style
What ibid., op. cit., loc. cit., idem, cf. and passim mean, where they came from, and which styles still allow each one in 2026, from each style's own rules.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Indonesian and Malaysian citation: daftar pustaka and theses
How Indonesian and Malaysian universities and journals want references: APA with dkk. and t.t., Gaya UKM, Malay names without bin, SINTA, Garuda and MyCite.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Italian citation styles: footnotes, autore-data and UNI ISO 690
How Italian universities cite: the nota a piè di pagina with ivi, ibidem and cit., the sistema autore-data, UNI ISO 690, small capitals and the tesi's bibliografia.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Japanese citation styles: SIST 02 and journal styles
Japanese citation styles read at source: SIST 02 and its status, the psychology and sociology society styles, names and romanisation, and 「」 and 『』.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Korean citation styles: APA, footnotes and romanisation
Korean citation styles read at source: APA as Korean journals apply it, footnotes in history and law, Revised Romanization, and finding papers in KCI and RISS.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Names in references: family name first, van der, al- and Jr.
Family name first, two surnames, van der, al-, Jr. and one-name authors in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, with real, checked examples.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Polish and Central European citation styles and ISO 690
How Polish, Czech, Slovak and Hungarian universities cite: footnotes with tamże and dz. cyt., Harvard, PN-ISO 690, ČSN and STN ISO 690, and names with diacritics.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Quoting and copyright: how much can you quote without permission?
Fair use and fair dealing read at the US Copyright Office and the UK IPO, publishers' rules on poems and song lyrics, and why a citation is not permission.
ResearcherEveryone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at Australian universities: Harvard, APA 7, AGLC
Which referencing styles ten Australian universities ask for, how Australian Harvard differs from UK Harvard, AGLC and Vancouver, and which have dropped Harvard.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at Canadian universities: APA, MLA or McGill Guide
The citation styles Canadian universities set, subject by subject, from McGill, UofT, UBC, Queen's, Laval and others, with law, government sources and French.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at New Zealand and Irish universities: APA, Harvard
The referencing styles New Zealand and Irish universities set, from their own library guides: APA 7, two Harvards, NZLSG, OSCOLA Ireland and te reo Māori sources.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at Nigerian universities: APA, UIMS, project format
Which referencing styles Nigerian universities ask for, from their own guidelines: APA, UIMS at Ibadan, project format, Nigerian names and plagiarism rules.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Referencing at South African universities: UNISA Harvard to APA
The referencing styles South African universities set, from nine library guides: UNISA's Augmented Harvard, UCT Author-date, Wits, APA 7, Vancouver, IEEE and law.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing at universities in the Gulf: APA, theses, integrity
Which citation styles universities in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain ask for, their thesis format rules and integrity policy wording.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Russian GOST citation style: GOST R 7.0.100-2018 and 7.0.5-2008
The GOST standards for Russian reference lists, read at source: the slash and dash punctuation, what replaced [Текст], in-text references and transliteration.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Secondary data dissertations: finding and citing datasets
A dissertation on secondary data: what universities allow, where to find datasets, their licences, and how to cite a dataset in six styles with its version and DOI.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Simplified and traditional Chinese characters in references
Simplified or traditional Chinese characters in a reference, from official sources: where each is standard, Mandarin and Cantonese, pinyin, names and mixed lists.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Spanish citation styles: APA in Spanish and UNE-ISO 690
How APA 7 changes in Spanish, what UNE-ISO 690 asks for, how to write two surnames, and where footnotes survive, from Spanish and Latin American library guides.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 11 min read
Studying abroad: which citation style will I need, by country
Which citation style you will need abroad, country by country and subject by subject, from 20 universities' own guides, and what else changes when you switch.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
The first citation index, from Garfield to the impact factor
How Shepard's Citations led Eugene Garfield to the Science Citation Index and the impact factor, and what Scopus, open citations, DORA and Leiden changed.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
The history of IEEE references and numbered citation
How IEEE's numbered references grew out of the IRE's footnotes, what each IEEE guide changed from 2007 to 2025, and how the style differs from Vancouver.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
The most cited papers of all time, and why Lowry is still first
Nature's top 100 lists of 2014 and 2025, why Lowry's protein assay leads them, why each index gives a different count, and how to find a topic's most cited papers.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
The oldest bibliographies, from Callimachus to Gessner
How lists of sources grew from the lost Pinakes through Jerome, Trithemius and Gessner to national bibliographies, and what each recorded about a book.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Title case or sentence case? APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard rules
Which titles and headings take title case or sentence case in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, with colons, hyphens and acronyms explained.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Transliteration and romanisation in references, style by style
When to transliterate a title or name in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, and which system to use: ALA-LC, ISO 9, BGN/PCGN, Pinyin, Hepburn, IJMES.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Turkish citation styles: ISNAD and APA 7 in Turkish
How ISNAD's footnote and author-date versions work, how APA 7 changes in Turkish, what thesis guides ask, and how to keep ç, ğ, ı and İ right.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Which referencing style do UK universities use? Harvard to OSCOLA
The referencing styles UK universities set, subject by subject, from their own library guides: Harvard, APA 7, OSCOLA, MHRA, list or bibliography, and a 2:1.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Why citation styles keep changing, and who decides
Who owns APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, why new editions come, how long each lasts, and what to do when one changes mid-degree.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
How to share a reference list with your group
One list, one style, one keeper: how a group divides its sources, catches duplicate entries and a/b clashes, and checks the merged list before hand-in.
Undergraduate
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
Joint degree referencing: one source in every style
Why joint degrees meet two referencing styles, one article, book and chapter set in six styles, the traps in switching, and one reference list kept for both.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Retired citation rules you can stop following, by edition
The publisher's city, Retrieved from, doi:, Print, Web and underlining: each retired citation rule, the edition that dropped it, and what to write now.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
The history of the Chicago Manual of Style, from 1906 to 2024
The Chicago Manual of Style edition by edition, from the 1906 house rules to the 18th: when author-date arrived, and how Kate Turabian's manual began.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
The history of the DOI, and why a DOI outlives a URL
How the DOI grew from CNRI's Handle System into Crossref, DataCite and ISO 26324, and what link rot studies show a DOI does and does not protect.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
The Vancouver Group and the history of Vancouver style
How a 1978 meeting of medical editors in Vancouver produced the Uniform Requirements, the ICMJE and the NLM's reference rules, edition by edition.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
Who invented the footnote? From marginal glosses to Gibbon
How the footnote grew from medieval glosses through Bayle, Gibbon and Ranke, which stories cannot be confirmed, and what notes do in each style now.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
APA 7 format for a whole paper, section by section
Set out a whole APA 7 paper in page order: abstract and keywords, quotations, lists, numbers, tables, figures, footnotes and appendices, read at APA Style.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Chicago and Turabian student paper format, page by page
Format a whole Chicago or Turabian student paper: title page, margins, font, spacing, page numbers, headings, quotations, tables, figures and reference list.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Chicago author-date referencing guide for the 18th edition
How to cite and list sources in Chicago author-date style, every rule read at Chicago's own pages: citations, et al., the reference list and each main source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Harvard style essay format and report layout, who sets each rule
Harvard fixes the citations and the reference list; your university sets the page. Three universities' essay and report rules compared, with a last checklist.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a book or ebook in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
The book and ebook reference in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and Harvard, each rule read at its source, with one real book cited in all four styles.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a textbook chapter in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
The chapter cases a textbook raises, authored, edited, open online and with a DOI, in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and Harvard, every rule read at its source.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite sources for homework and short assignments
The four facts every citation needs, what to record for the sources school students meet most, and the fastest correct route to the entry.
Secondary school
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
IEEE paper format for conference papers and student reports
Set out a paper in IEEE format from the IEEE's own templates and style manual: columns, headings, captions, equations, units, and how a student report differs.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
IEEE referencing guide with examples from IEEE's own guide
How to cite and list sources in IEEE style, each rule read in the IEEE Reference Guide: numbers, authors, abbreviations, DOIs, URLs and every main source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
MLA 9 format for a whole paper, from heading to Works Cited
Set out a whole paper in MLA 9: margins, header, first-page heading, headings, quotations of prose, poetry and plays, numbers, tables, notes and a final check.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
The history of APA Style, from 1929 to the 7th edition
How APA Style grew from a seven-page 1929 article to the 7th edition, edition by edition, and where the rules students meet today came from.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
The history of MLA style, from a 1931 style sheet to MLA 9
Every edition of MLA style from the 1931 PMLA style sheet to the 2021 ninth edition, and when footnotes, underlining, Print and Web gave way.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Vancouver referencing guide with examples from the NLM
How to cite and list sources in Vancouver style, each rule read at the NLM and the ICMJE: numbers, authors, abbreviations, web pages and every main source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
When to use APA style, and when another style suits better
EdCitation's view on when to use APA style: the fields and papers it suits, where MLA, Chicago, IEEE or Vancouver serve better, and how to decide.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
When to use Chicago author-date, and when you need footnotes
EdCitation's view on when Chicago author-date suits a paper, when a course needs Chicago footnotes instead, and how to tell which Chicago a brief means.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
When to use Harvard referencing, and why no two versions agree
EdCitation's view on when to use Harvard referencing, where APA, MLA, IEEE or Vancouver fit better, why universities' versions differ, and how to find yours.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 11 min read
When to use IEEE style, and when to choose another
EdCitation's view on when to use IEEE style: the technical work it suits, where APA, Harvard, MLA or Vancouver serve better, and a way to decide.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 11 min read
When to use MLA style, and when it is the wrong choice
EdCitation's view on when to use MLA style, when APA, Harvard, IEEE, Vancouver or Chicago fits better, and a step-by-step way to choose, every fact sourced.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 11 min read
When to use Vancouver style, and when another style is better
EdCitation's view on when to use Vancouver style: the journals and courses it suits, where APA, Harvard or IEEE fit better, and a way to decide.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Where Harvard referencing came from, and why it has many versions
How an 1881 paper on slug eggs began author-date citation, why nobody knows who named it Harvard, and how Cite Them Right became one Harvard among many.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 11 min read
APA 7 citations with no author, no date or no page numbers
What APA 7 does when the author, the date, the title or the page numbers are missing, with a reference and an in-text example for each and a table to copy.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
APA vs MLA vs Chicago, and which citation style to use
APA, MLA and Chicago compared in one table, with the same journal article cited in each style, and a plain rule for choosing the right one for your assignment.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Harvard referencing guide with Cite Them Right examples
How to cite in the text and build a reference list in Harvard style, with Cite Them Right examples for a book, a chapter, a journal article and a web page.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite a website in APA 7
The APA 7 pattern for a web page, with checked examples for a named author, an organisation, no author, no date, news sites and retrieval dates.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
How to cite ChatGPT and AI tools in APA, MLA and Chicago
The current official formats for citing ChatGPT and other AI tools in APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago, with an example of each and what to check before you use one.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 14 min read
How to format an MLA 9 Works Cited page
Set up an MLA 9 Works Cited page step by step, learn the nine core elements and containers, and copy correct examples for a book, an article, a website and a video.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 11 min read
Reference list, bibliography or works cited, explained
What a reference list, a bibliography and a works cited page each contain, which style uses which name, and what to do when your assignment uses the words loosely.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 11 min read
When to use et al. in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard
How many authors it takes before you write et al. in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, in the text and in the reference list.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
APA 7 in-text citations: the rules students most often miss
The APA 7 in-text citation rules that cost the most marks, each with a correct example, from et al. and page numbers to group authors and missing details.
Undergraduate

Checking references

October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Strange retractions: 11 odd cases and what to do if you cited one
Eleven strange retractions from the Retraction Watch database and its reporting, each traced to its notice, and what to do if a paper you cited is retracted.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
The most retracted researchers: the Retraction Watch leaderboard
Who tops the Retraction Watch Leaderboard in October 2026, what the investigations found in each case, and how to check your reference list for their papers.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Assessment design for AI: assignments with checkable sources
For instructors: assignment designs that make every source checkable, from TEQSA, QAA, Jisc and Sydney guidance, with brief wording and two tool runs.
Instructor
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Checking a thesis reference list: a supervisor's checklist
For PhD supervisors and examiners: what nine universities' rules say about references, sampling a long list, retractions, fabricated entries, a checklist.
Instructor
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to improve the quality of your sources in an essay
What markers mean by good sources, the CRAAP test and SIFT, weak sources and their stronger replacements, and a real source list improved one source at a time.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to improve your reference list in an hour: a timed plan
A timed one-hour plan to make a reference list better, not only correct: weak sources swapped, gaps filled, balance, recency and consistency, then the check.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Information literacy lesson plan: a one-shot on source checking
For librarians: the ACRL Framework and SCONUL pillars read at source, what library instruction studies found, a 50-minute one-shot plan, and AI-made references.
Instructor
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Screening manuscript references for fabrication and retraction
For journal editors: what COPE, the ICMJE and publishers ask of a reference screen, what the studies found, and an editorial-office procedure to follow.
Researcher
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Should referencing be marked? The case for checking sources
Our case for marking criteria that check sources are real and say what students claim: the rubrics, studies and regulators behind it, and a rubric table.
Instructor
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Writing centre tutors and references: what you can and cannot do
What US and UK writing centres let tutors do with a student's references, what tutoring research adds, a session flow and a do and do not table with sources.
Instructor
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Can't find a reference or its DOI? Why, and what to do next
Why a real reference can't be found, from a DOI typo to a romanised title or a thesis, how to tell each cause apart, and what to do if the source is gone.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Citation errors in published research: what studies found
The studies of citation and quotation errors in published research: sample, method, finding and limit for each, where they disagree, and how to check your own.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Common referencing mistakes students make: what studies found
Eleven studies of students' referencing mistakes, from essays to PhD theses: who was studied, what went wrong, where they disagree, and how to check your list.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Deadline tonight: the 30-minute reference check
A timed 30-minute reference check for the night of a deadline: the brief's style, citations against the list, real records, DOIs, names and a final read.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Famous plagiarism cases in literature and scholarship
Seven documented plagiarism cases, from Helen Keller to zu Guttenberg and Harvard: what each university, publisher or court found, and what followed.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Final checks before submitting a thesis or dissertation
A last-week checklist for a thesis or dissertation, from seven universities' own rules: word count, front matter, format, references, declarations, file and portal.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Hoax papers that fooled journals, from Sokal to SCIgen
Sokal, SCIgen, Bohannon's sting, the grievance studies papers and tortured phrases: what each hoax showed, what critics said, and how to check a source.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to teach referencing to first-year students in one session
A 50-minute referencing session for first-year students, built from library and writing-centre practice: timings, activities, AI and fake references, assessment.
Instructor
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Retracted papers still being cited: what the studies found
The studies of retracted papers still being cited, each with its sample, method, finding and limit, what publishers must show, and how to check your list.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Teaching students to cite sources: a guide for secondary teachers
For secondary teachers: what the Common Core, the IB, AQA's EPQ and national curricula ask about citing, a progression from 11 to 18, and three lessons.
Instructor
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Why did I lose marks for referencing? Feedback comments decoded
The referencing comments markers really write, what each one means and how to fix it, and how five universities weigh referencing in their marking criteria.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 12 min read
How fabrication scandals in journalism and science were caught
Six documented fabrication cases, from Janet Cooke to Diederik Stapel: what was invented, the check that exposed each, and what it teaches about sources.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Check your paper before you submit: the complete checklist
Every check to run on a paper before you hand it in, in the order that saves time, with the time to allow, what each finding means and the tool for each.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Checking submissions against the assignment brief and rubric
For markers: keeping rules apart from judgements, what marking policy and rubric research ask, a real MIT brief read into a checklist, and the tools.
Instructor
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
How to check your paper against the marking rubric
Analytic and holistic rubrics, what research says about self-assessment with one, and a criterion-by-criterion check on real rubrics from CMU, the LSE and MIT.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to mark APA formatting faster and more consistently
For markers: what APA 7 asks of a student paper, what rubrics give it, a comment bank, and a real Mechanics QA run on a sample paper, finding by finding.
Instructor
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to run a reference check for a whole class, fairly
For markers: when to check every script or a sample, what "not found" and "could not check" mean, how to confirm by hand, and how to talk to the student.
Instructor
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
In-text citations that do not match the reference list
Why in-text citations and the reference list drift apart, the rule in six styles, what markers do, and a real mismatch report from EdCitation's free check.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Leftover comments, tracked changes and template text in a paper
Why hidden tracked changes and resolved comments still reach a marker, how to clear every leftover in Word and Google Docs, and what your file says about you.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Replace a weak or retracted source with a better one
Why a source is weak or retracted, how to find stronger support for the same claim, and how to rewrite the sentence so it says what the new source says.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Upload your paper and check every reference before you submit
Why a finished paper's references fail, how to check them by hand, and what EdCitation's References from a file found when we uploaded a sample paper.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Writing tutor feedback against the brief, without editing
For tutors and writing centres: what centre and proofreading policies allow, what feedback research says, and a 30-minute session built on the brief.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Academic integrity policy wording for AI and references
Template clauses for checkable references, AI use by level and rubric lines, grounded in real policies, with a fair process when a reference is missing.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
Are Elicit, Consensus and Scite citations reliable?
Elicit, Consensus and Scite cite real papers and still get the claim, the count or the label wrong. Where each fails, and where EdCitation is the better tool.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Are Perplexity's citations accurate? Real links, wrong claims
Perplexity's links usually open. The failures are the sentence the page does not support, the summary cited instead of the paper, and the overstated finding.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
ChatGPT fake citations and how to find and fix them
What OpenAI says about ChatGPT's sources, how often each version invented references, and how to get citations from ChatGPT that can be checked.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Claude fake citations and how to find and fix them
What Anthropic says about Claude's sources and search, what the studies found, the prompts that help, and how to check every reference Claude gives you.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Do Meta AI, Mistral and other chatbots invent references?
What Meta and Mistral say about search and sources, what studies found for Meta AI, Llama and Le Chat, and a one-minute test for any other chatbot.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Does DeepSeek make up references, and how to check them
What DeepSeek says about sources and Search, what seven published tests of its references found, how it goes wrong, and prompts that make its citations checkable.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Does Grok make up sources, and how to check its citations
What xAI says Grok does with the web and X, what three tests found about Grok's references, and how to ask Grok for sources you can check.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Gemini fake citations and how to find and fix them
What Google says about Gemini's sources, what the studies of Bard and Gemini found, what double-check and grounding really do, and how to check each reference.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to check your references before journal submission
What studies of published papers say about reference and quotation errors, and a pre-submission checklist for citations, metadata, DOIs, retractions and style.
Researcher
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
How to detect fake citations in a literature review
A sampling routine for markers, a table of the ways a literature review's citations fail and how each is caught, and a worked check of one claim against its source.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
How to mark reference lists faster, in five minutes a paper
A marker's five-minute routine for reference lists, in order of what matters, with rubric lines, a plan for a cohort of eighty and what to write in feedback.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to spot fabricated references in student work
The signs of an invented reference, a five-minute spot check, what "not found" does not prove, a fair process, and assessments that make sources checkable.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to teach students to verify sources in one lesson
A 40-minute lesson on verifying sources: a warm-up vote, a four-step check, a printed six-reference worksheet with its key, a debrief and an exit ticket.
InstructorSecondary school
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Microsoft Copilot fake citations, and how to check them
What Microsoft says Copilot's citations are, what tests of Bing Chat and Copilot found, and how to get references from Copilot that can be checked.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
What to do if an AI detector wrongly flags your writing
AI detectors estimate, and they are sometimes wrong about human writing. What the evidence says about false positives, and what to do, step by step, if flagged.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Why AI tools invent references, and how to catch them
Language models write reference-shaped text without looking anything up. What the studies measured, what web search changes, and a six-step check that catches fakes.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to check whether a reference is real
How to check by hand that a reference exists, what "not found" does and does not mean, and how to check a whole reference list in one pass.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
What a retraction is and how to check your reference list for one
What a retraction means, how to find out whether a paper you cite has been withdrawn, and how to cite a retracted paper in APA 7 if you have to.
PostgraduateResearcher

Writing the paper

October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
A Million Little Pieces and fake memoirs: do publishers check?
How The Smoking Gun undid A Million Little Pieces, five other memoir cases from the record, and what publishers say they check before a memoir goes out.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Famous writers who loved the em dash, from Sterne to Joyce
Sterne, Dickinson, Austen, Byron, Poe, Kleist and Joyce: what each writer used the dash for, what printers did to it, and how to quote it in an essay.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Famous writers' daily routines and drafts, in their own words
The routines, daily word counts and drafts of Morrison, Angelou, Hemingway, Trollope, King and others, from the Paris Review and their own words, each one sourced.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Funny and odd scientific paper titles, and famous first lines
Funny and odd scientific paper titles and famous first lines, from Upper's blank 1974 paper to Watson and Crick, each with its DOI and how to cite it.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
How famous writers revised: first drafts and alternate endings
The drafts and endings Austen, Dickens, Shelley, Owen, Eliot, Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Carver left behind, where to see them, and what they teach.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a cover letter for a literary magazine
What literary magazines ask a cover letter and bio to say, in their own words, with an example letter, simultaneous submission wording and what to leave out.
Undergraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write for a student newspaper, from pitch to print
How to join and write for a student newspaper: pitches, news copy, AP and house style, ethics codes, op-ed rules from named papers, and student press law.
Undergraduate
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Rejected classics: famous books publishers turned down
Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Peter Rabbit and other famous rejections, read in the letters themselves, and the popular stories no document supports.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Where to submit a short story: 13 magazines and their rules
Thirteen magazines' own submission rules, read on 3 October 2026: word limits, reading periods, fees, simultaneous submissions and AI policies, side by side.
Undergraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Women who wrote under male pen names, and how to cite them
The Brontës, George Eliot and other women who wrote under men's names, told from their own words, and how to cite a pen name in APA 7 and MLA 9.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to argue a position in writing: claim, evidence, warrant
Argue a position in writing: claim, evidence and warrant, a Toulmin model example, a position paper plan, and how a debate case becomes paragraphs.
Undergraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a topic sentence and a strong, cohesive paragraph
Write topic sentences that make a claim, keep each paragraph to one point, and build cohesion with given-new order, clear reference words and lexical chains.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Academic tone: first person, the passive voice and contractions
What APA 7, MLA, Chicago, Nature and six universities say about I and we, the passive voice, contractions, you and hedging, with before-and-after examples.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Academic vocabulary and concise writing: words to use and cut
The Academic Word List and its critics, formal words for essays from university guides, and how to write concisely, with before-and-after examples of our own.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Academic writing in a second language: a practical guide
What markers weigh in second-language writing, the errors that recur, paraphrasing safely, dictionaries and corpora, and what universities allow from tools.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Academic writing in French: dissertation, mémoire and plan
The dissertation and its plan, the commentaire de texte and the mémoire at French, Belgian, Swiss and Québec universities: parts, lengths, pledges, AI and "nous".
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Academic writing in German: Hausarbeit, thesis and declaration
The Hausarbeit, Bachelorarbeit and Masterarbeit at German, Austrian and Swiss universities: parts, lengths, the declaration of own work, AI, "ich" and the Exposé.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Academic writing in Mandarin at Chinese universities: the thesis
The 学位论文 at Chinese universities: its parts, lengths in characters, the proposal, similarity checks, misconduct rules and the new AI rules, read at source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Appendices, tables and figures in a thesis or dissertation
What goes in a thesis appendix, how to number and title tables and figures, how to credit one taken from a source, and what six universities' rules require.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Can you split an infinitive? Where the old rule came from
What a split infinitive is, which nineteenth-century writers invented the rule against it, what today's style guides say, and when to split in a paper.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Can you start a sentence with and or but in academic writing?
What Merriam-Webster, Chicago, the MLA and writing centres say about starting a sentence with and, but, because, however or so, and where the school rule came from.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Critical writing vs descriptive writing, with a worked example
What markers mean by too descriptive, from six universities' guides, with questions that turn description into analysis and a paragraph rewritten from real studies.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Dissertation formatting: university templates and Word styles
Format a dissertation to your university's template: margins, fonts, page numbers, Word styles, LaTeX classes and PDF/A, from six universities' own rules.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Dissertation literature review chapter: how to write it
The literature review as one dissertation chapter: its length beside the others, its links to the questions, method and discussion, and what markers ask.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Dissertation timeline and plan, working back from the deadline
Plan a dissertation timeline back from the deadline: the fixed dates, ethics delays, a Gantt chart, extensions, PhD milestones and a 12-week worked plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Dissertation word count: what counts and what does not
What a dissertation word count includes at nine universities: references, footnotes, appendices, tables, abstract, penalties, and why Word counts differently.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Ending a sentence with a preposition: where the rule came from
Where the ban on ending a sentence with a preposition came from, what Dryden wrote in 1672, the Churchill myth, and what dictionaries and essays ask now.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Hedging and cautious language in academic writing
Hedges, boosters and reporting verbs from seven universities' guides and Hyland's research, with claims over-stated, over-hedged and right, on real studies.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How journalists cite scientific studies in a news story
How to cite a study in a news article: what press codes ask, naming and linking the paper, preprints, embargoes, the exaggeration research, and a checklist.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to attribute quotes in news writing and journalism
How to attribute quotes in news writing: said or says, on and off the record, anonymous sources, documents, posts and other outlets' reporting.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to choose a dissertation topic you can finish
Choose a dissertation topic: where ideas come from, what makes one feasible, scoping searches, narrowing, originality by level, and a worked example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to choose a research method for your dissertation
Choose a dissertation research method: which designs suit which questions, the limits of time, access and ethics, sample sizes, and the methods texts to cite.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to explain your research in two minutes, with 3MT tips
How to explain your research in two minutes: a structure, a worked example, the Three Minute Thesis rules, lay summary limits and what research says about jargon.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to integrate sources: synthesis, not summary
Integrate sources by synthesis, not summary: build a synthesis matrix, group sources by theme, signal agreement and disagreement, and cite several per paragraph.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to pitch an opinion piece, from the outlets' own rules
What the Times, the Post, the Guardian, the Irish Times, the Globe and Mail and The Conversation ask of an op-ed pitch, read at source, with evidence checked.
ResearcherEveryone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to prepare for a viva or dissertation defence
How to prepare for a PhD viva or thesis defence: formats at seven universities, what examiners assess, the questions they ask, mock vivas, and a four-week plan.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to structure an essay: introduction, body and conclusion
Structure an essay's introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion from seven universities' guides, with the proportions they give and a worked outline.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to use feedback to improve your next essay
What common essay feedback comments mean, from six universities' guides, what research says about using feedback, and a feedback log and action plan to copy.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to use office hours and ask your lecturer for help
What office hours and student hours are at US and UK universities, what to bring and ask, how to email a professor, and the other academic support on offer.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a book review for a class or a journal
Write an academic book review for a class or a journal: what it does, the heading journals require, its length, and how to cite the book and the review.
UndergraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a case study assignment, with structures by field
Write a case study assignment: structures by field from ten universities, SWOT, PESTLE and the nursing process, confidentiality, and citing the case itself.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to write a compare and contrast essay, with an example
Write a compare and contrast essay that argues: grounds, thesis, block or point-by-point structure, and a worked paragraph comparing two real studies.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a conference abstract for a talk or poster
How to write a conference abstract from six meetings' own calls: limits and what counts, titles, references, unfinished work, posters and publishing later.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a counterargument and rebuttal in an essay
Write a counterargument and rebuttal paragraph: what nine writing guides say, where it goes, the phrases, refute, concede or qualify, and worked examples.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a critical review or critique of an article
How to critique a journal article: what seven universities ask for, CASP's questions for a trial, a structure template and a worked example critique.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a discursive essay, with a worked example
Write a discursive essay: what SQA Higher, National 5 and IELTS ask for, for-and-against and point-by-point structures, the conclusion, and a worked paragraph.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a dissertation abstract
Write a dissertation abstract: its parts, the word limits from Oxford, MIT, UBC and others, keywords, tense, what to leave out, and a weak and strong example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a dissertation conclusion chapter
Write a dissertation conclusion chapter: answer each objective, state the contribution for your level, place the limitations, and make specific recommendations.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a dissertation discussion chapter
Write a dissertation discussion chapter: its purpose, a common order, using the literature review, cautious claims, and a worked paragraph built on real studies.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a dissertation introduction chapter
Write a dissertation or thesis introduction: its jobs, how it differs from an essay introduction and a literature review, when to write it, and a worked opening.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a dissertation, from topic to submission
The whole dissertation, step by step: topic, research question, proposal, supervisor, ethics, chapters by discipline, a timeline and the final checks.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a grant proposal, from the funders' own guidance
Write a research grant proposal from seven funders' own rules: the usual sections, page and word limits, review criteria, reference rules and why proposals fail.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a literature review: structure and synthesis
Structure a literature review by theme, time, method, theory or debate, write synthesis instead of summary, end on the gap, and see what universities say on length.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a methodology chapter for a dissertation or thesis
Write a dissertation methodology chapter: methodology against methods, what goes in, qualitative and quantitative differences, tense, voice and faults markers name.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a PhD thesis, and what examiners look for
How to write a PhD thesis: what seven universities' regulations require, what studies of examiners' reports found, the monograph's shape, length and the viva.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a research proposal for a dissertation or PhD
The parts of a research proposal, the lengths eight universities set, how a PhD application proposal differs, what assessors mark, and a worked outline of our own.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to write a short story, from first scene to final draft
How long a short story is by prizes' and magazines' own limits, how to build scenes, voice, dialogue and endings, and what a university story and commentary need.
EveryoneUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a thesis statement, with weak and strong examples
Write a thesis statement that is arguable, specific and answers the question, from ten universities' guides, with weak and strong examples in three subjects.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write an abstract for an essay, lab report or article
Write the abstract of an essay, lab report or article: its parts, the limits APA and six journals set, tense, keywords, and weak and strong examples of our own.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write an argumentative essay, with a worked example
Write an argumentative essay: a contestable claim, evidence, counterargument and rebuttal, the classical, Toulmin and Rogerian structures, and a worked paragraph.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write research questions, aims and objectives
Write a dissertation's aim, research questions, objectives and hypotheses, with PICO, PEO and SPIDER, worked examples, and how many the universities suggest.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write to a word count: budget, cut and expand
Plan a word budget, cut an essay that runs over and expand one that falls short without padding, with real university tolerances and a paragraph cut by a third.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Inclusive and bias-free language in academic writing
What APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and the UK and Australian government style guides say about bias-free language, side by side, with each source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Machine translation in academic writing: is it allowed?
What universities in the UK, US, Australia, Europe and Hong Kong and three journal publishers say about DeepL and Google Translate, and how to declare it.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Minor and major viva corrections, and what regulations mean
Viva corrections at nine universities: minor, major, resubmission, lower degree and fail, the time allowed, who checks, the corrections table, and final deposit.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
One space or two after a full stop? The history and the rule
Why typists put two spaces after a full stop, why APA 6 asked for them and APA 7 did not, what the reading study found, and how to clear double spaces in Word.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Orwell's six rules for writing, and when to break them
Orwell's six rules from Politics and the English Language (1946), what each means for an essay, where they clash with academic writing, and what linguists say.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Over the word limit: what counts and what to cut
What seven universities count in a word limit, where a 10% margin really exists, and four before-and-after cuts that bring an essay back under it.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
PEEL paragraph structure, TEEL, MEAL and CER, with examples
PEEL, TEEL, MEAL, PETAL and claim-evidence-reasoning as a dozen universities and exam bodies define them, with four worked paragraphs built on real studies.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Period or full stop inside or outside quotation marks?
Where full stops and commas go with quotation marks in American and British style, what APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard ask, and how the rule began.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Proofreading and editing a dissertation, and what is allowed
Edit a dissertation yourself in the right order, then see what Leeds, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Bristol, UCL and Nottingham let a proofreader or an AI tool do.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
References in a grant application: NIH, NSF, UKRI and ERC rules
Funders' own rules for references in a grant application: NIH, NSF, UKRI, ERC and ARC on page limits, style, PMCIDs, preprints and links, read at source.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Reflective writing with Gibbs and other models, and how to cite
Gibbs, Kolb, Schön, Rolfe, Johns and Brookfield from their sources, how to cite each, confidentiality on placement, and a reflection rewritten weak to strong.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Report vs essay: how they differ and how to tell which is wanted
Compare a report and an essay: purpose, structure, tone and visuals, and how to tell from the brief which is wanted, with one topic written both ways.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Reporting guidelines for student research and dissertations
Which reporting guideline fits your dissertation, what each checklist and flow diagram asks, who requires one, and how to cite CONSORT, PRISMA or COREQ correctly.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Research ethics approval for a dissertation, step by step
When a dissertation needs ethics approval, which review level applies, what the form asks for, the waits universities state, and what goes in the thesis.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Signposting and linking words in academic writing
Major and minor signposting, linking words grouped by job, the common mistakes and how to punctuate them, from eleven universities' guides, with a worked paragraph.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Strunk and White's Elements of Style: history, rules and critics
The story of The Elements of Style from Strunk's 1918 booklet to White's 1959 edition, its rules in academic writing, and what Pullum and other critics say.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Submitting a thesis to the repository: embargoes and licences
Deposit a final thesis in the university repository: embargo reasons and limits at ten universities, licences, UKRI rules, EThOS, ProQuest and DOIs.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
The first scientific journals, Paris and London in 1665
How the Journal des sçavans and Philosophical Transactions began in 1665, what they printed, who paid for them, and the journals that followed them.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
The history of peer review, from the Royal Society to today
How refereeing grew from the Royal Society's committee of 1752 to Nature's rule of 1973, where the term came from, and what the studies of peer review found.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Thesis acknowledgements, dedication and front matter
Put a thesis's front matter in order: title page, declarations, copyright, acknowledgements, dedication, contents and lists, from six universities' own rules.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Thesis by publication: the rules for a PhD by published papers
Thesis by publication rules at eight universities: how many papers, what status, co-authorship, the linking chapters, publishers' permission and references.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Too many quotations in an essay: how to fix over-quoting
How many quotes an essay can take, what writing centres say, when to quote, and how to turn over-quoting into paraphrase, with a before-and-after of our own.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Translating your paper into English for journal publication
What the ICMJE, COPE and five publishers allow when you translate a paper into English, how to handle its references and credits, and a checklist to submit.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Turning a dissertation into a journal article
Turn a dissertation or thesis into a journal article: what to cut, what six publishers say about prior publication, supervisor authorship and references.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Undergraduate, master's and PhD dissertations compared
Undergraduate, master's and PhD dissertations side by side: originality, length, time, supervision, marking and the viva, from national frameworks and universities.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Verbatim, intelligent verbatim and Jefferson transcription
Choose between full verbatim, intelligent verbatim and Jefferson notation, lay out an interview transcript, quote it in APA 7 and report it in a methods chapter.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
What does sic mean? Using [sic] in a quote, and quoting dialect
What [sic] means, where it goes and whether it is italicised in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard, and how to quote dialect, old spelling and speech fairly.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Who decides what is correct English, if there is no academy?
Why English has no academy, how dictionaries add words, what style guides and usage panels decide, and which rules an assignment actually has to follow.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Who or whom? When to use whom in academic writing
When to use who or whom, the he or him test, whoever and whomever, why "whom I think is" is wrong, what corpus studies say, and what a formal paper needs.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Words that changed meaning over time, from nice to literally
Thirteen English words that changed meaning, from nice and silly to decimate and literally, each dated from the dictionaries, and how to read them in old texts.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Working with your dissertation supervisor: what each side owes
What universities' codes of practice say a dissertation supervisor and student owe each other: meetings, feedback on drafts, records, disagreements and panels.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
How to choose a journal and avoid predatory journals
Choose a journal by scope, readers, indexing, fees and review times, and spot a predatory one with Think. Check. Submit. and COPE's and DOAJ's own criteria.
ResearcherPostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
How to respond to peer reviewers and revise a manuscript
How to answer peer reviewers point by point after major or minor revisions, disagree with evidence, meet the deadline, and what to do after a rejection.
ResearcherPostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a cover letter to a journal editor
What journals ask a manuscript cover letter to contain, how each publisher treats suggested and opposed reviewers, what to leave out, and an outline to adapt.
Researcher
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a journal article: IMRaD and what journals ask
How to write a journal article: what each part of IMRaD does, where the form came from, and what the ICMJE, PLOS ONE, Nature and BMJ ask of a manuscript.
Researcher
September 24, 2026 · 12 min read
Singular they: its history from Chaucer's day to APA 7
How singular they ran from Middle English to APA 7: the grammarians who objected, the dictionaries' evidence and what each style guide says now.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
A prose guide for clear writing, from sentence to paragraph
Clear sentences and paragraphs from government guidance, APA and research: sentence length, active and passive voice, jargon, clutter, signposting, revising.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Check APA 7 formatting before submission with Mechanics QA
Check APA 7 formatting before you submit: the student paper's rules read at APA Style, what a Word file hides, and a real Mechanics QA run, finding by finding.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Does my paper answer the assignment question? How to check
Why marking criteria punish an essay that misses the question, a by-hand check that traces the brief to your paragraphs, and a worked example on a real brief.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Essay assignment checklist, from the brief to hand-in
One checklist for an undergraduate essay, from the brief to the receipt, with what marking criteria at three universities say about evidence and referencing.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to get a short piece published in the New York Times
What the New York Times takes from outside writers, from Modern Love to letters, how each is sent, and where a short story can go instead.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a health sciences assignment in Vancouver style
Write an evidence-based practice essay or a case report in Vancouver style: the PICO question, the search, appraisal, CARE and keeping the patient anonymous.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a literary analysis essay in MLA style
Write a literary analysis essay in MLA style: read closely, argue a thesis, explain every quotation, and cite a novel, a poem and a play the MLA way.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a news report, from the lead to the headline
How newsrooms write a news report: the inverted pyramid, a short lead, attribution and "said", anonymous sources, fact checks, headlines and captions.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a report with Harvard referencing
Write a report with Harvard referencing: each part in order, how it differs from an essay, and how to cite company reports, market data and statistics.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write an APA lab report or research paper
Write an APA lab report or research paper in IMRaD order, from APA's reporting standards and sample papers: what each section holds and how to report statistics.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write an IEEE conference paper or technical report
Write an IEEE conference paper or technical report from the IEEE's own guidance: each part's job, contributions, double-blind rules, AI disclosure and camera-ready.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write and publish an ebook, from EPUB file to ISBN
Write and self-publish an ebook: each platform's files, covers, ISBN rules, royalties, DRM and AI disclosure, and how to cite and check a non-fiction book's sources.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
The Oxford comma debate: style guides and the Maine dairy case
Which style guides use the Oxford comma and which drop it, what the Maine dairy overtime case decided and how to choose for an assignment.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Common APA 7 formatting mistakes in student papers
The APA 7 formatting rules that student papers break, from the title page to the reference list, each checked against the APA Style website.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite sources in your first research paper
A plain guide to citing for a first research paper. What needs a citation, the two parts of every citation, MLA or APA, worked examples and five mistakes to avoid.
Secondary school
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to read an assignment brief and rubric
What command words such as analyse and evaluate ask for, where briefs hide their requirements, and how to turn a rubric's top band into a checklist before you write.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write an annotated bibliography, with an example
What an annotated bibliography is, the three kinds of annotation, the APA 7 and MLA 9 layouts, and one complete entry written out for a real journal article.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
When to paraphrase, quote or summarise, without plagiarism
One source passage used four ways, each with its APA 7 citation: patchwriting, a proper paraphrase, a quotation and a summary. Then how to read a similarity report.
Undergraduate

Finding sources

October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Boolean search for research papers: AND, OR, NOT and phrases
How AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks, truncation and brackets work in PubMed, Scopus, OpenAlex and Google Scholar, and how to build and log a review search string.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Find a source to support a claim: search the claim, not the topic
How to turn a sentence into a search, find evidence for a statement in your essay, and check the source says it before you cite it, with three worked claims.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Non-English sources in a literature review: find and cite them
Why reviews miss non-English and regional research, what the studies of language bias found, and how to search by language and by where authors are based.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Citation cartels and citation manipulation: the documented cases
Citation cartels, coercive citation and citation stacking: the documented cases, what Clarivate and COPE do about them, and how to spot a gamed count.
Postgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Do citation counts matter? How to judge a research paper
What a citation count measures, what a good number of citations is by field, the h-index explained, and a checklist for judging a paper beyond its count.
Postgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How recent should my sources be? The five-year rule explained
How old can sources be? The date rules universities actually state, by subject, how to use seminal works, and how to find the newest evidence on a topic.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to do a scoping review: the JBI method and PRISMA-ScR
A scoping review step by step: when it fits, the PCC question, protocol and registration, searching, charting, consultation, results and PRISMA-ScR.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to do a systematic review, stage by stage
The stages of a systematic review, each from its own source: question, protocol and PROSPERO, search, screening, risk of bias, synthesis, GRADE and PRISMA 2020.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to find every paper by an author or in a journal
Find all papers by an author with ORCID, Google Scholar and open indexes, search a specific journal by its title or ISSN, and set alerts for new issues.
Postgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to tell if an article is peer reviewed
How to tell if an article is peer reviewed: the journal's own policy, Ulrichsweb, the DOAJ, received and accepted dates, and what is never reviewed.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write up qualitative findings in a dissertation
Write up qualitative findings: themes and thematic maps, choosing and anonymising quotations, interpretation, reflexivity, COREQ and SRQR, with a worked example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write up quantitative results in a dissertation
Write a quantitative results chapter: its order, statistics in APA 7, p values, effect sizes, tables and figures, missing data, CONSORT and STROBE, with an example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Levels of evidence: systematic review, meta-analysis and RCT
The levels of evidence pyramid explained from its sources, Oxford CEBM, Melnyk and GRADE, every design defined, and how to find reviews and trials by kind of study.
Postgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Types of academic sources: journals, books, preprints, theses
Every type of academic source explained from university library guides, with primary, secondary and tertiary by discipline, and when each can be cited.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Types of literature review and when to use each one
Ten types of literature review compared: purpose, protocol, reporting guideline, time and team, and which one a student dissertation can realistically do.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
What is open access, and how to find free research articles
Open access explained: gold vs green, hybrid, diamond and bronze, what the licences allow, and every legal way to read a paywalled paper, step by step.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
Books for lifelong learners: how to choose, read and find them
How adults who are not enrolled can choose serious books, read a subject in order, get access through libraries and open courses, and keep a reading list.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
How to find a book in a library near you
Where to look for a reading-list book, in order: your library's catalogue, holds and recalls, public libraries, interlibrary loan, SCONUL Access and WorldCat.
Undergraduate
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
How to use BibTeX in a LaTeX thesis or on Overleaf
How BibTeX entries, keys and braces work, biblatex or natbib, a LaTeX style for APA 7, IEEE, Harvard or Vancouver, one .bib per thesis, and the final check.
Postgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 14 min read
Move references between EdCitation, Zotero, EndNote and Mendeley
What RIS and BibTeX are, how Zotero, EndNote and Mendeley import and export them, what a move tends to lose, and how to check the list once it arrives.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Organise references with tags by chapter or assignment
Keep one master reference list, tag each source by chapter, assignment, theme and status, and pull out a clean list for each piece of work with no duplicates.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Reading a book for an essay and citing it as you go
How to read a monograph, edited collection or textbook chapter for an essay, keep notes with page numbers, and cite it right first time in APA 7 and Harvard.
Undergraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Research group shared sources: a lab reading list and citations
How a lab keeps one body of sources: a core reading list for new members, project tags, a journal club record, and citations its co-authors agree on.
Researcher
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
A student research workflow, from the brief to submission
Eight steps from the brief to submission, in order, with the reason for each step, the published evidence behind it, and the tool and cost for each one.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Biology and chemistry textbooks: what to buy and how to cite
The biology and chemistry textbooks Edinburgh and Southern Utah set for 2026, which edition to buy, and how to cite each one in Harvard, APA 7 or RSC style.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Business and management books for students, and how to cite them
The books York and Edinburgh set business students for 2026/27, why editions matter, and how to cite a textbook, annual report and ONS release.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Computer science books and textbooks for your degree
The computer science books MIT, York and Edinburgh set, how their editions differ, and how to cite a textbook or a conference paper in IEEE and APA 7.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Economics textbooks: which edition, how to cite, where to find
The economics books York, LSE, Edinburgh and MIT set, how editions differ, and how to cite a textbook, an NBER working paper and an ONS release.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Education books for teacher training: what to read and cite
Education books set at York, Reading and Southern Utah for 2026, why policy dates an edition, and how to cite a textbook, the Teachers' Standards and an EEF report.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Engineering textbooks and handbooks, in one place
The engineering textbooks, handbooks and standards set at Edinburgh and MIT, how to find the right edition by ISBN, and how to cite each in IEEE and APA 7.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
English literature set texts and criticism: editions and citing
The set texts, anthologies, criticism and theory on Warwick, Liverpool and QMUL lists, why the edition matters, and how to cite each kind in MLA 9.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Free academic books online for students, by discipline
Fifteen legal sources of free academic books, discipline by discipline, with what each holds, its licence, whether it needs an account, and how to cite one.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
History books for students: what to read and how to cite it
The books York and Warwick set history students for 2026/27, why editions and translations matter, and how to cite them where author-date is allowed.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to build a personal library for your degree
Which books to keep for a whole degree, what essential and further reading mean, when to buy, borrow or use an e-book, and how to track editions.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to find a textbook by ISBN or edition
How an ISBN works, how to check one, why a textbook has a dozen of them, and how to get from a reading list entry to the edition it really names.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to make a reading list for students and share it with a class
How to build a reading list students use: essential and further labels, weeks, editions and access, yearly review, and one list shared with a whole class.
Instructor
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Law textbooks and books for students: editions and citing
The books Warwick and Kent set law students, why the current edition matters, how to find it by ISBN, and when to cite in OSCOLA, the Bluebook or APA.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Mathematics and statistics textbooks on 2026/27 reading lists
The maths and statistics books Edinburgh, York, Cambridge and LSE set for 2026/27, why editions matter, and how to cite a textbook, R and a data set.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Medical textbooks for students: which edition and how to cite
The books medical schools set, from Warwick, Oxford, USC and Buffalo lists, how to choose an edition, and how to cite a textbook, chapter and NICE guideline.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Nursing textbooks for students: the core books, in one place
The kinds of book a nursing degree reads, named from 2026 university reading lists, how to choose an edition, and how to cite a nursing textbook in APA 7.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Philosophy books for students: translations, editions, citing
The translations Southampton, Edinburgh and Cambridge set, what Stephanus, Bekker and A/B numbers mean, and how to cite classics, companions and the SEP.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Psychology textbooks: what a degree reads, in one place
The psychology textbooks set on 2026 reading lists at York and Southern Utah, what changed between editions, and how to cite each one in APA 7.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Social work and sociology books and how to cite them
The books and documents York and Southern Utah set for 2026/27, why law and translation date them, and how to cite each one in Harvard or APA 7.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Where to find free textbooks legally
Eight legal sources of free textbooks and academic books, what each holds, how each is licensed, what textbooks cost, and how to cite a book from any of them.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Where to save references and keep them from course to course
Why references go missing between modules and years, what a personal record should hold, where to keep it, and how to rebuild a list you have lost.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
How many references should an essay or dissertation have?
There is no official rule. Here is what university guides really say about reference counts, what markers look for instead, and how to find good sources fast.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to find sources for a literature review fast
A repeatable method for finding literature review sources: the search string, review articles, citation chaining, the right databases and legal full text.
Postgraduate
September 22, 2026 · 14 min read
What is a DOI, and how to find one for an article
What a DOI is, where it is printed on an article, how to look one up when it is missing, and how APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard each want it written.
Everyone

AI and plagiarism

October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Are AI detectors accurate? What the studies found
The published studies of AI detector accuracy in one table: who tested which tools, on what writing, and each paper's own figures for false positives and misses.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Can an AI detector prove cheating? Why a score is not evidence
Our view on AI detector scores in misconduct cases: why a score is not evidence, what a fair process includes, step by step, and what to do if accused.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Should I use AI to write my essay? Why a tool never should
Our view on AI writing your essay: what university policies, QAA and TEQSA say, what studies of learning show, and what a tool may do.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
A short history of machine writing, from Strachey to ChatGPT
How machines learnt to write, from Shannon's hand-made statistics and Strachey's love letters to ELIZA, grammar checkers and GPT, and why none of them could cite.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
AI and your dissertation: what universities allow and require
What ten universities' dissertation and thesis rules allow of AI, who approves it, the declaration's wording and place, the viva, and research data.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
AI transcription of research interviews: ethics and GDPR
What universities and data regulators say about AI transcription of research interviews: consent wording, approved tools, local Whisper, accuracy and declaring it.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How often does ChatGPT make up references? What studies found
A living table of the published studies that counted invented references from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and others: model, test date and each paper's own figures.
UndergraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Should you disclose AI use? What journals and universities say
Whether to disclose AI use, from eight publishers' and six universities' own policies: what to declare, where it goes, what is exempt, AI authorship and images.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Spellcheck, autocorrect and the writing tools before AI
How spell checkers, readability scores, style and grammar checkers, autocorrect, predictive text and reference managers arrived, and the check none of them made.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
What AI cannot do for a writer, from the evidence
Seven things generative AI cannot do for a writer, from published studies and the makers' own help pages, and what to do instead at each step.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
How AI changed academic writing: what the evidence shows
What large studies found about AI in papers, peer reviews and grant proposals since 2022, where they disagree, and the retractions and fake references that followed.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Words AI overuses, like delve: what the studies found
What the studies of delve, intricate and other words AI overuses counted, their figures, methods and limits, and why one word proves nothing about a writer.
Everyone
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Writing in your own voice when everyone suspects AI
What voice means in academic writing, how to keep drafts and version history as a record, what detector studies found, and what to do if questioned.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
AI detectors and non-native English writers: what the tests show
What every published test found on AI detectors and writers of English as an additional language, what a score can and cannot prove, and how to protect your work.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to check your dissertation for plagiarism before submission
What universities do with a dissertation's similarity report, why innocent text matches, how to declare reuse, and a chapter-by-chapter check before you submit.
PostgraduateUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
How to read an AI detection report, passage by passage
What each label on an AI detection report means, why a whole-paper percentage misleads, which passages detectors misread, and what to do with a flagged one.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
The em dash is not proof of AI, and neither is any other tell
Why the em dash, the word delve and tidy lists of three prove nothing about who wrote a text, what studies measured, and what to show if questioned.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Using plagiarism and AI reports fairly as a marker
For markers: what similarity and AI reports can and cannot show, what universities accept as evidence, and a fair method from the first match to the meeting.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Can teachers detect ChatGPT? What the evidence shows
Teachers, detectors, vivas, drafts and the reference that does not exist. What the studies and universities' own pages say about spotting ChatGPT.
UndergraduateSecondary school
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Do AI humanizers work, and should you use one?
What the research says about AI humanizers and detectors, what universities say about disguising AI use, what the rewrite costs, and the honest fix.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How AI detectors work and how accurate they are
How AI detectors score a text, what watermarking changes, and what independent tests found when they measured the vendors' accuracy claims, figure by figure.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How plagiarism checkers work and what a similarity score means
How text-matching works, what the databases hold, what a similarity score counts and misses, and why no percentage is a finding of plagiarism.
Everyone
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
How to check your paper for AI before submitting
Four checks before you hand in: keep proof you wrote it, declare permitted AI use, verify every reference, and read a detector preview as a warning light.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to check your paper for plagiarism before submitting
A night-before procedure for quotations, paraphrases, citations and references, then how to read every match a plagiarism checker shows, type by type.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
How to declare AI use in an assignment
What APA, MLA and Chicago say about acknowledging AI use, what universities ask you to declare, a template in plain words, and where the statement goes.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
Is using AI to edit my essay plagiarism? Where the line falls
Where AI editing stops being proofreading and becomes false authorship, what APA, MLA, Chicago and four universities say, and how to declare what you did.
Undergraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
What is self-plagiarism, and can I reuse my own work?
The APA definition of self-plagiarism, how UK, US and Australian universities word it, what text recycling allows, and how to cite your own earlier work.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 22, 2026 · 13 min read
What similarity percentage is acceptable in an essay or thesis?
No universal number exists. What Turnitin, India's UGC, Pakistan's HEC and eight university guides actually say, what each band usually means, and what to do.
Undergraduate

By subject and level

September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Business and management referencing in Harvard and APA 7
Reference annual reports, 10-Ks, Statista, Mintel, Passport, HBS cases, HBR articles, ISO standards and Bloomberg in Harvard and APA 7, as business schools set them.
Undergraduate
September 27, 2026 · 13 min read
Engineering and computer science IEEE citations, source by source
Cite conference papers, IEEE, ISO and BS standards, GitHub code, Zenodo software, datasets, arXiv, datasheets and patents in IEEE, from IEEE's own guide.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
English literature MLA citations: poems, plays, novels, films
Cite a poem, a Shakespeare play, a novel, a short story in an anthology, a translation, a film, song lyrics, the Bible and criticism in MLA 9, with examples.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite preprints, datasets and software as a researcher
Cite preprints, datasets, R packages, GitHub repositories and Zenodo releases in APA 7 and five other styles, with the version, the DOI and the published version.
Researcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite reports and statistics in social work and sociology
Cite ONS bulletins, census tables, case reviews, Working Together, charity reports, codes and datasets in Harvard and APA 7, and check each statistic is current.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to cite the national curriculum, Ofsted and DfE guidance
APA 7 and Harvard references for the national curriculum, Ofsted, KCSIE, the Education Act 2002, Common Core and school policies, each read at source.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Mature students returning to study: routes, funding and skills
Who counts as a mature student, the routes back (Access to HE, foundation years, the OU), funding, what the data show, and our first-term plan with referencing.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Peer review checklist: checking the references in a manuscript
For peer reviewers: what COPE, Elsevier and Springer Nature ask of a reference check, a table of what to flag, and wording for the editor that accuses no one.
Researcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Referencing for international students studying in English
What UK, Australian, Canadian and US universities expect of referencing that may be new to you, where each says so, the support on offer, and a checklist.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Vancouver citations in medicine: trials, Cochrane, NICE, drugs
How to cite PubMed articles, Cochrane reviews, trial registrations, NICE and WHO guidelines, the BNF, abstracts and medRxiv preprints in Vancouver style.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
APA 7 for psychology students, beyond the basics
APA 7 for psychology students: citing the DSM-5-TR, tests, preregistrations, data sets, posters and textbook studies, and the student title page.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Group project reference list, one list for the whole group
How four writers keep one reference list straight: one style, one owner, a tag per section, where universities draw the collusion line, and the merge-day checks.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Journal manuscript references checklist, by journal style
The reference checklist for a journal manuscript, family by family: ICMJE and Vancouver, APA 7, Nature, Springer and IEEE, read at source, then submission day.
Researcher
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Managing dissertation references from proposal to submission
Dissertation references over three years: the proposal, instruments, software and datasets, preprints and retractions, what examiners say, and the school's rules.
Postgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 14 min read
Nursing APA citations and the sources that count as evidence
How nursing students cite guidelines, Cochrane reviews, drug entries, codes and statistics in APA 7, and how nursing ranks evidence, each rule read at source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Research proposal references and capstone project sources
What research proposal references must do, what Leeds, Lancaster and Sydney ask for, how a capstone cites reports, standards and a client, and the week-before check.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Thesis literature review, keeping hundreds of sources straight
How to manage several hundred sources across a year-long thesis literature review: the synthesis matrix, tags, one style, duplicates, counts and checks.
Postgraduate

Study skills and technique

October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Active recall vs rereading and highlighting: what studies found
Active recall against rereading and highlighting, study by study: what each compared and found, the effect sizes, where evidence is thin, and a week's plan.
Undergraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Exam technique: how to answer the question asked
Exam technique for answering the question asked: command words as AQA, OCR and Pearson define them, the first minutes, and the faults examiners' reports name.
Undergraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to take notes from sources without patchwriting
What patchwriting is, why it starts in your notes, and note formats that keep quotation, paraphrase and your own thinking apart, with a worked example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Reasonable adjustments at university: studying with a disability
How disabled students get reasonable adjustments, extra time in exams and DSA in the UK, college accommodations in the US, and support in Australia.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Deep work and distraction: what the evidence says
What studies found on deep work, attention residue, task switching, interruptions, flow and mind wandering, and where the 8-second goldfish attention span came from.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Group study that actually works: what the research shows
How to run a study group that works: what peer instruction, teaching others and group recall studies found, roles, a one-hour plan, and the collusion line.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to beat exam stress: what works and where to get help
How to beat exam stress: what the NHS, Mind and universities advise, what the studies found, where to get help, and our plan for the week before an exam.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to build a study routine that lasts the whole term
How long a study habit takes to form, what the 66 days figure means, why cues beat willpower, how to restart after a missed week, and our four-week plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to focus and stop procrastinating: what the evidence says
Why students procrastinate and how to stop, from the research: if-then plans, the phone on your desk, self-forgiveness, the Pomodoro technique, and getting help.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to learn a new subject from scratch: a self-study plan
How to learn a new subject from scratch: textbook, reviews, then studies; the research on novices, the Feynman technique, 20 hours, and a four-week plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to read an academic paper fast: the three-pass method
Read a research paper fast with Keshav's three-pass method: IMRaD, what to read first by paper type, notes, judging quality, and a worked example.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to recover from a bad semester or a failed module
How to recover from a bad semester: resits, capped marks and repeat years in the UK, probation and grade forgiveness in the US, where to get help, and a plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to remember what you read: SQ3R and what the research shows
How to remember what you read: SQ3R and what later studies found, why highlighting and rereading fall short, screen or paper, and a routine for a chapter.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to revise for exams: a revision plan and timetable
How to revise for exams: find out what each paper asks, build a revision timetable from our template, use past papers well, sleep, and plan the day before.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to study effectively: what the research shows
What the research on learning shows about studying: self-testing, spacing and mixing topics, why rereading and highlighting fall short, and a weekly plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to study with a job or caring responsibilities
How many hours students can work in term, the visa limit, support for student carers and parents, the flexible options, and our weekly plan for a 20-hour week.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to take notes in lectures: Cornell, outlines and laptops
The Cornell, outline, mapping and charting methods, what the laptop and longhand studies really found, the rules on recording, and a lecture notes template.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write an exam essay under time pressure
How to write an exam essay: split the time, decode command words, plan in five minutes, cite in closed-book exams, and read open-book and take-home rules.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Interleaving: how to use mixed practice when you study
What interleaving is, what studies of blocked vs interleaved practice found, where mixed practice fails, and how to use it in maths, science, languages and essays.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Learning styles are a myth: what to do instead
Are learning styles real? What the studies on VARK, visual learners and the meshing hypothesis actually found, where the evidence stops, and what to do instead.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Phone and social media while studying: what the research shows
What studies found on phones, social media and grades, multitasking, laptops in lectures, notifications and music, and the phone settings that help you focus.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Retrieval practice: how to use the testing effect to study
How to use retrieval practice: brain dumps, flashcards, practice questions and past papers, what the testing effect research found, its limits, and a weekly plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Spaced repetition: how to schedule revision
How to schedule revision with spaced repetition: what the forgetting curve shows, the review gaps studies found, the Leitner system, and a revision calendar.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Time management for students: a weekly study plan
How many hours a week a course expects, what universities and studies say about time management, and our weekly study plan and term plan templates.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
University reading lists: how to get through them
How to get through a university reading list: what essential, recommended and further mean, how much reading is expected, what studies found, and a weekly plan.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
Ebooks or print for studying: what the reading research shows
What the paper and screen reading studies found, and did not, how library ebook licences work, citing a page from an ebook, and what each format costs.
Everyone

Careers and professions

October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Academic career path in the US, UK and Australia, stage by stage
The academic career path from postdoc to professor in the US, UK and Australia: titles, tenure track rules, promotion criteria and official figures.
PostgraduateResearcher
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a lawyer in the US: LSAT, JD, bar exam and MPRE
The US route to becoming a lawyer from official sources: the LSAT, the JD, the bar exam and NextGen, the MPRE, character and fitness, and law office study.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a chartered engineer in the UK, and a PE in the US
CEng, IEng and EngTech under UK-SPEC, accredited degrees, apprenticeships, institution fees and the US PE licence, each read at the official body.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to become a data scientist in the UK and the US
Degree, masters and apprenticeship routes into data science in the UK and the US, the skills and pay official sources give, and a learning plan of our own.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a doctor in the UK: routes, UCAT and training
Every route into UK medicine, the UCAT, the October deadline, the MLA, GMC registration, the Foundation Programme, funding and pay, read at the official sources.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to become a doctor in the US: MCAT, MD vs DO, USMLE, Match
The US route into medicine from the official bodies: pre-med courses, the MCAT, MD or DO, USMLE and COMLEX, the residency Match and a state medical licence.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a lawyer in the UK: solicitor, barrister and SQE
Every route to becoming a solicitor or barrister in the UK, from official sources: the SQE, its 2026 fees, apprenticeships, the Bar, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to become a nurse in the UK: routes, entry and registration
The four fields, every route into UK nursing, entry requirements, funding in each nation, NMC registration and starting pay, each read at the official source.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a nurse in the US: routes, NCLEX and licensure
The US routes into nursing (LPN, ADN, BSN, accelerated BSN), the NCLEX-RN, state licensure and the compact, each read at the NCSBN, AACN, BLS or a state board.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a pharmacist: UK MPharm and US PharmD routes
The MPharm, foundation training year and GPhC registration assessment in the UK, and the PharmD, NAPLEX and state licence in the US, from official sources.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to become a psychologist in the UK: routes, GBC and HCPC
GBC, conversion courses, the HCPC's protected titles, each doctoral route, Clearing House places, NHS pay, and assistant and PWP roles, read at source.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a psychologist in the US: degrees, EPPP, licensure
PhD or PsyD, APA accreditation, the internship match, the EPPP, state licensure, PSYPACT and school psychology, each read at the body that sets it.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a researcher: the PhD route and what comes after
How to become a researcher: how long a PhD takes in the UK, US and Netherlands, postdocs, fellowships, lectureships, and what doctoral graduates go on to do.
Secondary schoolPostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a social worker in the UK and the US
Every route into social work in England, the bursary, Social Work England registration and the ASYE, then the US path from BSW and MSW to an LCSW, read at source.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a teacher in the UK: QTS, PGCE, routes and funding
Every route to QTS in England, entry requirements, bursaries by subject, induction and pay, and the routes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, read at source.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to become a teacher in the US: certification, Praxis and pay
The US routes to a teaching licence, the Praxis and state tests, alternative certification, reciprocity and teacher pay, read at state and federal bodies.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to become an accountant: ACCA, ACA, CIMA and the US CPA
The UK routes (AAT, ACCA, ICAEW's ACA, ICAS, CIMA, apprenticeships) and the US CPA, with exams, experience, fees and timelines read at each official body.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to prepare for a graduate interview: STAR, video, questions
Graduate interview formats, the STAR method, strength-based and video interview tips, assessment centres, PhD interviews and questions to ask, from careers services.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a cover letter: structure, length and a template
How to write a cover letter, from ten university careers services: length, structure, who to address, the job advert, speculative letters, AI and a template.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a graduate CV, with a template and CV vs resume
What goes on a graduate CV, how long it runs and in what order, CV vs resume vs academic CV, ATS and AI rules from careers services, and a template of our own.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a personal statement: UCAS, college and master's
What UCAS, the Common App, Berkeley, Cornell, Oxford and Cambridge ask a personal statement to cover, their limits and AI rules, and a planning template.
Secondary schoolPostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a scholarship application: Chevening to Fulbright
What Chevening, Commonwealth, Fulbright, Gates Cambridge and Erasmus Mundus ask for, their limits, referees and AI rules, with a planning template.
Secondary schoolPostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
PhD application: how to apply and write the research proposal
What PhD application pages in the UK, US and Australia ask for and allow, funded studentships or your own project, supervisor emails and interviews.
Secondary schoolPostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
What can I do with a business degree? Jobs, schemes and pay
Business management degree jobs, graduate schemes, UK and US graduate outcomes, the professional qualifications that follow, and average pay from official surveys.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
What can I do with a psychology degree? Jobs, salary and routes
Psychology degree jobs with and without a Masters, what UK and US graduates go on to do, average pay from official surveys, and the skills the degree gives.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
What can I do with an English degree? Jobs, pay and routes
English degree jobs with and without further study, what UK and US graduates go on to do, pay from official surveys, and the skills an English degree gives.
UndergraduatePostgraduate

Speaking and argument

October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to add speaker notes in PowerPoint, Google Slides and Keynote
How to add speaker notes in PowerPoint, Google Slides and Keynote, see them on one screen or two, print them, and use them in Teams or Meet, from the makers' help.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How to ask a good question in a seminar, with examples
Good questions to ask in a seminar or class, with examples: Bloom's levels, Socratic question types, asking where a figure came from, and conference Q&A.
Undergraduate
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Presentation handout: how to make one from your speaker notes
Turn speaker notes into a one-page presentation handout: what goes on it, when to give it out, accessible print, a template, and references from the record.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Speaker notes for a class presentation: template and examples
Speaker notes for a class presentation: what rubrics mark, timing per slide, group hand-offs, citing aloud, and a template with a worked student example.
Undergraduate
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Speaker notes for a conference talk: timing, citing and Q&A
Speaker notes for a conference talk: a timing table for 10-, 15- and 20-minute slots from organisers' own rules, citing aloud, Q&A and accessibility.
Researcher
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Speaker notes for a work presentation to senior management
How to write speaker notes for a work presentation: answer first, figures with their sources and caveats, executives' questions, accessibility, and an example.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Speaker notes vs a full script, cue cards or memorising
Speaker notes, a full script, cue cards or memorising: when each works, the risks, what memory research shows, and how to read a script well if you must.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Debate formats explained: British Parliamentary to Public Forum
Debate formats explained from their own rulebooks: British Parliamentary, World Schools, Lincoln-Douglas, policy, Public Forum and the Oxford Union, with times.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Debate prep time: what to do in 15 minutes, with a prep sheet
Debate prep time, minute by minute: what the WUDC, World Schools and NSDA rules allow, how to spend 15 minutes, a prep sheet and a worked example motion.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite sources in a speech or debate, with verbal examples
How to cite sources in a speech or debate: what to say aloud, what goes on slides and in the outline, debate evidence rules, and verbal citation examples.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to design slides that help: what the research shows
How to design slides that help: assertion-evidence slides, Mayer's research, words per slide, the 10-20-30 rule, accessible slides and a checklist.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to give a presentation without reading your slides
How to give a presentation without reading off your slides: what the research shows, a rehearsal plan, cue cards, eye contact, questions and nerves.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to network at an academic conference as a PhD student
How to network at an academic conference: preparing from the programme, approaching people, questions after talks, posters, follow-up emails and grants.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to rebut an argument: rebuttal in debate, with examples
How to rebut an argument in a debate: four-step refutation, the four kinds of reply, weighing, attacking evidence and flowing, from the debate rulebooks.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to speak up in seminars when you are nervous
How to speak up in seminars and tutorials when you are nervous: how participation is marked, ways in, phrases, good questions, online seminars and a routine.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a best man speech, eulogy or retirement speech
How long a best man speech, eulogy, leaving or graduation speech should be, from named sources, with structures, word counts and three templates of our own.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a debate case: definitions, burden and an example
How to write a debate case: motion types, fair definitions and burden of proof from the WUDC, World Schools and NSDA rules, a template and an example case.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a persuasive speech: outline, structure and topics
How to write a persuasive speech: an outline template, Monroe's motivated sequence, ethos, pathos and logos, what research says about evidence, and topic ideas.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a speech: structure, timing, openings and endings
How to write a speech: the structure, how many words for 3, 5 or 10 minutes from published speaking rates, openings, endings, writing for the ear and rehearsal.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write speaker notes: what to include, with examples
How to write speaker notes: what to put in them, how much, a script or cue cards, rehearsing from notes, and notes you hand in, with a worked example.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Logical fallacies: 15 common ones and how to answer each
Fifteen common logical fallacies, defined from the philosophy encyclopedias, each with our own example, how to answer it, and which are not always fallacies.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate

Language and its history

October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Dialects in academic writing: standard and non-standard English
What linguists, the CCCC, APA, MLA and Chicago say about dialects and standard English, when your own variety fits an essay, and how to name one.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Famous misprints in history, from the 1631 Wicked Bible
The 1631 Wicked Bible and other documented misprints, from court records and library catalogues, with errata slips and how to cite the edition you read.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Modern Standard Arabic vs dialects: fusha, ammiya and Arabizi
Where Modern Standard Arabic and the dialects are each written, from Ferguson's diglossia to Arabizi, and how to cite and transliterate a dialect source.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
Noah Webster and American spelling: why color has no u
Why Americans spell color without a u: Noah Webster's blue-backed speller, his 1806 and 1828 dictionaries, the reforms that failed, and what essays ask now.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Phonetic transcription and the IPA in academic writing
When to use broad or narrow IPA transcription, which Unicode fonts show every symbol, and how to cite and credit the IPA chart in a paper.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Plain English movements: the Campaign, the Act, the research
How the Plain English Campaign began in 1979, how the US Plain Writing Act of 2010 passed, and what research on readability and plain language shows.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 13 min read
The dictionary that invented a word: dord and other ghost words
How dord got into Webster's 1934 dictionary, the ghost words the OED listed as spurious, and fake words planted on purpose, from the dictionaries' own records.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
The longest word in English, and other word records
The longest word in English as the dictionaries record it, from 45 letters to 189,819, with the most meanings, place names and Guinness word records.
Everyone
October 3, 2026 · 12 min read
Why English is the language of science: history and data
How Latin, German and French gave way to English in science, what the publication data show, what English costs non-native writers, and who requires it.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
A history of the em dash: typesetters, Sterne and Dickinson
The em dash from 1588 playbooks and typesetters to Sterne and Dickinson, and how Chicago, APA, AP, Oxford and the Guardian set em, en and hyphen today.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Apostrophe rules, the grocer's apostrophe and its defenders
Apostrophe rules from APA, MLA, Chicago and the Guardian, the grocer's apostrophe, the Apostrophe Protection Society and councils removing it from street signs.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Does literally mean figuratively? What the dictionaries changed
What Merriam-Webster, the OED, Cambridge and Collins say about literally, when each recorded the intensifier, the 2013 uproar, and what an essay should do.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
E-mail or email? The hyphen and the hyphenation wars
Why AP dropped the hyphen from e-mail in 2011, the 16,000 hyphens the Shorter Oxford cut in 2007, and the APA, Chicago and Oxford rules for compound adjectives.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Footnote symbols in order: asterisk, dagger and double dagger
The traditional order of footnote symbols, where the asterisk, dagger and double dagger came from, what they mean in papers and tables, and their Unicode points.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
History of quotation marks: from the diple to curly quotes
How the diple became the quotation mark, why British and American printers chose different marks, guillemets abroad, and curly vs straight quotes in Unicode.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
History of the semicolon: who invented it and how to use it
Who invented the semicolon, how it reached English, what Vonnegut, Orwell and its friends said, and where APA, MLA, Chicago and Vancouver put it today.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
How printing fixed English spelling, from Caxton to Johnson
How printing affected English spelling: Caxton's Westminster press of 1476, the eggs passage, the h in ghost, the Chancery Standard and what waited until 1755.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
The ampersand: its history, name and when to use & in APA
Where the & came from, why it is called an ampersand, whether it was the 27th letter, and when APA, Harvard and MLA write & or and.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
The pilcrow (¶): the paragraph symbol's meaning and history
Where the pilcrow (¶) came from, how blank spaces may have become the indent, how to show it in Word and Google Docs, and citing with para. or par.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
What is an interrobang? Who invented it and how to type it
Who invented the interrobang (‽) in 1962, the typefaces and typewriters that carried it, how to type U+203D, and what style guides say about ?! today.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 13 min read
Who invented the question mark? Origin, myths and the Spanish ¿
Who invented the question mark: the punctus interrogativus, Alcuin and Godescalc, the cat and quaestio legends, the Spanish ¿, Greek and Arabic marks, APA and MLA.
Everyone
October 2, 2026 · 12 min read
Words Shakespeare invented, and what the OED now records
Where the 1,700 figure for words Shakespeare invented comes from, what the OED and searches of early printed books now show, and 12 words and phrases checked.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
British or American English in academic writing: which to use
British vs American spelling, Oxford spelling and -ise or -ize, quotation marks, dates, what APA, MLA, Chicago and journals ask, and how to keep one variety.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Latin abbreviations in academic writing: e.g., i.e., et al., cf.
What e.g., i.e., etc., et al., cf., viz., vs. and ca. mean, and how APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver set each one, with common mistakes.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 and its famous definitions
Johnson's Dictionary of 1755: the contract, the helpers, the numbers, its famous definitions read in the first edition, whether it came first, and how to cite it.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
The Great Vowel Shift explained, with examples and dates
What the Great Vowel Shift changed, word by word, the dates linguists give and dispute, why spelling stayed behind, and what happened in Scots and the north.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
When to write numbers in words: APA, MLA, Chicago, UK, IEEE
When to write numbers in words or figures in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, GOV.UK and IEEE: the thresholds, exceptions, percentages, decimals, dates and money.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Why is English spelling so weird? Silent letters and ghoti
Why English spelling is so weird: Norman scribes, Caxton's printers, silent letters, the b in debt, loanwords, failed spelling reform, and where ghoti really began.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
World Englishes in academic writing: Indian, Nigerian and others
What world Englishes are, which spelling journals in India, Nigeria, Singapore, Pakistan, Kenya and the Philippines ask for, and how to keep one variety.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 24, 2026 · 13 min read
How the Oxford English Dictionary was made by volunteer readers
How volunteer readers built the Oxford English Dictionary on slips of paper, what is documented about W. C. Minor, and how to cite an OED entry today.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
A short history of the English language, period by period
Old, Middle, Early Modern and Modern English, with a documented line from each period, the languages that shaped English and how to cite its history.
Everyone

Tools, compared

September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Best free APA citation generators in 2026, tested for accuracy
Seven free APA citation generators read from their own pages, four run on the same three sources against the APA 7 rule, and every departure recorded.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Best tools to check a paper before submitting in 2026
The six checks a paper needs before it is handed in and the best tool for each, read from every tool's own pages on 23 September 2026, with prices.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
EdCitation vs Citation Machine and EasyBib, which should you use?
Citation Machine and EasyBib compared with EdCitation job by job from their own pages, checked 23 September 2026, with a test on three identifiers.
Secondary schoolUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
EdCitation vs Grammarly, are Grammarly citations accurate?
Grammarly's citation generator, auto-citations, AI detector and plans, read on its own pages on 23 September 2026 with a DOI and a web-page test, against EdCitation.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
EdCitation vs Mendeley and EndNote for a thesis or paper
Mendeley, EndNote and EdCitation compared by job for a thesis or paper, from their own pages on 23 September 2026, with prices and the published tests.
PostgraduateResearcher
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
EdCitation vs MyBib, which citation tool should you use?
MyBib and EdCitation compared by job from MyBib's own pages, checked 23 September 2026, with a test on a DOI, a PubMed ID and a retracted paper.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
EdCitation vs Scribbr, which should you use for citations?
Scribbr and EdCitation compared job by job from Scribbr's own pages, checked 23 September 2026, with a DOI and an ISBN test of its generator against APA 7.
Undergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
EdCitation vs Zotero and ZoteroBib, which should you use?
Zotero and EdCitation compared by job from their own pages, checked 23 September 2026, with a ZoteroBib test against APA 7 and a five-step workflow using both.
PostgraduateUndergraduate
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
Is Google Scholar's Cite button accurate? What to use instead
Google Scholar's Cite button checked on 23 September 2026 against Google's own pages, the published evidence and APA 7, and where EdCitation is the better tool.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 11 min read
Is there an all-in-one research and citation app for students?
Seven things an all-in-one research and citation app must do, and EdCitation, Scribbr, Grammarly and Zotero against them, read on their pages on 23 September 2026.
UndergraduatePostgraduate
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Tools for marking essays: every EdCitation tool for instructors
Each marking job an EdCitation tool takes off an instructor's desk, in marking order, with plans and prices, and what universities say stays with the marker.
Instructor
September 23, 2026 · 13 min read
Tools for writing tutors: EdCitation for writing centres
Every EdCitation tool set against the jobs of a tutoring session: who runs it, tutor or student, what it costs, and the line that neither tutor nor tool crosses.
Instructor
September 22, 2026 · 12 min read
Citation generator, reference manager or reference checker?
The three kinds of citation tool, what each is for, well-known examples with what their own sites say they cost, and how to choose at your level of study.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
The best citation tool in 2026, by job
Eight criteria, twelve citation tools scored from their own pages on 22 September 2026, and the best tool for each job, with every shortcoming sourced.
Everyone
September 23, 2026 · 12 min read
The best reference checkers in 2026, compared
Reference checkers compared on their own pages: what each looks up, what it charges, a criteria table, and why a chatbot cannot verify its own list.
Everyone

Meetings and writing at work

September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
AGM minutes: what to record at a general meeting, with a template
How to write AGM and general meeting minutes: the usual business, elections, proxies and resolutions, UK and California law, and our own template and example.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
AI note-takers in meetings: consent, accuracy and policy
What AI note-takers in Teams, Meet and Zoom produce, the consent law by country and state, why a summary is not the minutes, and published policies.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Approving and correcting minutes: who signs, what can change
Approve and correct meeting minutes properly: who signs, what may change, disputes, approval by email, and what signed minutes prove, from UK and US sources.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Board meeting minutes in the UK: what the Companies Act requires
What UK company law asks of board minutes: sections 248 and 249, the model articles, conflicts under sections 175 and 177, section 172, and who keeps and sees them.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Board meeting minutes in the US: state law and good practice
What US state law asks of corporate board minutes, from Delaware's written consents and section 220 inspections to executive sessions, privilege and SEC disclosure.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Charity trustee meeting minutes in England and Wales
What charity trustee minutes in England and Wales must record, from Charity Commission guidance and the law, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and an example.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Committee and working group minutes, and terms of reference
Minute a committee or working group: terms of reference, delegated authority, a recommendation versus a decision, reporting up to the board, and our template.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Confidential minutes, privilege and closed sessions
How to minute a closed session or confidential item: UK exempt information, US executive sessions, legal privilege, personal data, and a worked example.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
House style guide: AP style, Economist, GOV.UK and Guardian
What a house style guide is, how AP style, The Economist, GOV.UK, the Guardian and Oxford differ on a dozen points, and a template for your company.
EveryoneUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to cite sources in a business report: APA and Harvard
Cite annual reports, 10-K filings, market research, Statista, ONS, Census, World Bank and OECD figures in APA 7 and Harvard, with real examples we checked.
UndergraduateEveryone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to take meeting minutes: before, during and after
Take meeting minutes step by step: preparing, what to write down, votes and interests, approval, and what the law says for boards, charities and councils.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a board paper: template, cover sheet and example
How to write a board paper: the cover sheet, the purpose line, the recommendation first, each section and its length, what directors need, and our template.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a briefing note: template, format and example
How to write a briefing note for a minister, official or board: its parts, its length, decision or information, how governments teach it, and our template.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a business case, with the five case model
Write a business case with HM Treasury's five case model: what each case answers, the three stages, options appraisal, our invented outline and citing evidence.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a business report: structure, format and sources
Write a business report part by part, number its headings and tables, word the recommendations, and cite annual reports, statistics and journals in Harvard or APA.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a headline: rules for news, features and the web
How to write a headline that is read and trusted: newsroom rules, length, capitals, standfirsts, web headlines, what studies of clicks found, and essay titles.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a meeting agenda: items, papers and notice
Write a meeting agenda that works: the standard items, decision or information, timings, papers and notice, with UK and US rules and our own template.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write a memo: format, examples and templates
How to write a memo in the right format: the To, From, Date and Subject heading, purpose first, business, policy and legal memos, lengths and our templates.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a policy brief: format, template and example
How to write a policy brief for a course: the sections universities ask for, their lengths, how evidence is cited, a real rubric, and our template and example.
Postgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a policy or standard operating procedure (SOP)
Write a policy or an SOP that people can follow: policy vs procedure vs work instruction, the parts of each, what regulators ask, and our template and example.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a press release: format, template and example
Write a press release that gets read: the parts in order, embargoes, research releases that do not exaggerate, how to cite the study, and our own template.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a professional email: structure, tone, templates
How to write a professional email: subject lines, greetings, sign-offs, tone, follow-ups, reply all and attachments, with universities' advice and our templates.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
How to write a proposal or tender response to an ITT or RFP
Write a tender response or RFP proposal: read the invitation, build a compliance matrix, answer each question with evidence, and know the UK, US and EU rules.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write a white paper: format, structure and example
What a white paper is in government and in business, the format and structure to follow, an outline to copy, and how to cite the evidence in a reference list.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write action items that get done
Write meeting action items people finish: a verb, one owner, a date and a definition of done, with our weak and strong examples and what research says.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
How to write an annual report and a sustainability report
What an annual or sustainability report must contain in the UK, the US and the EU, the GRI, ISSB and ESRS frameworks from their own pages, and a structure to copy.
EveryoneUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
How to write an executive summary, with an example
Write an executive summary for a report, business plan, grant or government paper: its parts, lengths set at source, our invented example and common faults.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Is it legal to record a meeting? Consent law by country and state
Whose consent you need to record a meeting in US states, the UK, Canada and Australia, from the statutes, plus council meetings, lectures and our announcement.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Meeting minutes template: board, charity, school and club
Copy our own meeting minutes templates for any meeting, a company board, charity trustees, a school governing board or a club, with an invented worked example.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Minutes for remote and hybrid meetings: quorum, votes and chat
Minutes for remote and hybrid meetings: attendance, quorum, dropped connections, online votes and chat, under UK company, council, charity and US rules.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Minutes under Robert's Rules of Order: the 12th edition's format
Write minutes under Robert's Rules of Order, 12th edition: the first paragraph, motions and votes, who is named, approval, corrections and executive session.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Minutes, notes or an action log: which does a meeting need?
Choose the right record for a meeting: formal minutes, a note of meeting, an action or decision log, or a transcript, with the rules and our own templates.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Nonprofit board minutes in the US: what Form 990 asks
What Form 990, the IRS excess benefit rules and New York and California law ask of a US nonprofit's board minutes, with a table and our example pay minute.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 14 min read
Parish and town council minutes in England and Wales
What parish and town council minutes must record under the 1972 Act, the Localism Act and the Transparency Code, with Wales and an example minute of our own.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
PhD supervision meeting records: the rules and a template
What eight universities require of PhD supervision meeting records, what a good record holds, how records feed progress reviews, and our own template.
Postgraduate
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Plain English at work: the rules, the Plain Writing Act, examples
Plain English at work from its sources: GOV.UK, the US Plain Writing Act, Australia's Style Manual and ISO 24495-1, with their rules, rewrites and a table.
EveryoneUndergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
School governor meeting minutes in England: the rules
What school governor meeting minutes in England must record, who signs them, who may see them and how long to keep them, for maintained schools and academies.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 12 min read
Student society meeting minutes: a secretary's guide
Take minutes as a student society or club secretary: committee and general meetings, quorum, votes, the AGM records unions ask for, members' data, and a template.
Undergraduate
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
What to include in meeting minutes, and who requires it
Every element meeting minutes should contain, from attendance and quorum to decisions and actions, with the UK and US law or guidance that asks for each one.
Everyone
September 26, 2026 · 13 min read
Who can see meeting minutes? FOI, SARs and members' rights
Who may see minutes in the UK and US: FOI requests, draft minutes, subject access, shareholders, charity members and councils, with our request template.
Everyone

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