Academic Writing Help Centre FAQ

• It’s up to the professor to decide whether or not students are allowed to use AI in a course. At this time, you’ll need to check your syllabuses or ask your professors to find out what their expectations are about the use of AI tools.

Note: The approach to using or citing AI can vary from one course to another.

• Check uOttawa’s guidelines on the use of AI and generative AI tools.

• It’s always a good idea to start by planning out your paper with an outline. This could be as simple as a quick mind map or as complex as a detailed plan spanning several pages. Whatever method you choose, make sure your outline includes your topic, the points you want to discuss about that topic, your introductory sentences and an outline of your introductory and concluding paragraphs.
• Think about the relationship between the points you’ll be covering. How are they connected? Are they opposing ideas? Are they supporting ideas? Examine the paragraphs: imagine you’re taking someone by the hand and walking them through your arguments. What would your explanation sound like? You can also plan out the sources or quotes you’ll be using (how many sources, which sources and what content from them you’ll cite).
• Keep in mind that you can either draft an outline and then do your research or conduct research and then build your outline — or do a mix of both.
• If you’re unsure how to manage your time during the writing process, try using Goblin Tools, an AI-based task management resource, or the University of Minnesota’s Assignment Calculator.

• A thesis statement is meant to summarize the argumentation in your paper. In general, each paragraph in the paper should respond directly to the question or argument set out in this statement. There are four broad categories of thesis statement: claims about facts, claims about solutions, claims about causes and effects, and claims about value. Think about the point of view you want to take in your paper, and consider the “who, what, when, where and how” model while drafting your thesis statement.
• Typically, the length of your thesis statement depends on the length of your paper. In a shorter text (500 to 800 words), the thesis statement could be one or two sentences long. This may sound strange to you, especially compared to what you learned in high school. It’s important to remember that as the level you’re writing at increases, the way you write will change accordingly. Your writing style will improve, and you may find some “strict” rules to be more flexible than you thought.
• The format of your thesis statement can vary according to your professor. Some want you to use an explicit statement like “This paper will argue,” but others don’t. Be sure to ask your professor if there are any specific elements to be included in your thesis statement.

• Putting the main ideas of all your paragraphs into your outline is a great way to ensure you’ll stay on topic during the writing process.
• In each paragraph of your paper, the main idea goes in the first sentence, the topic sentence. Make sure that sentence summarizes what you’ll be exploring in the paragraph — the idea that supports your thesis. The topic sentence can include a connector linking the main idea of this paragraph to the one in the paragraph before.
• You can also start off your topic sentence with a transition word or phrase. There are several different types of transition words and phrases. Be sure to choose ones that fit the structure of your argumentation.

• When you’re drafting your introductory paragraph, picture an inverted triangle. The sentences should go from statements of general ideas (the first sentence) to a more specific topic or argument (your thesis statement). The first sentence is sometimes called the “hook.” It sets out the subject of your paper, so don’t include any overly broad expressions like “since the dawn of time.”
• Your introductory paragraph explains why people should care about the argument you’re making. For example, you can use this paragraph to bring up questions about the importance of your argument in a broader academic context or about problems or issues related to the the argument. Introductions and conclusions are often shorter than the body paragraphs in a text, but they need to be clearly organized to tell readers the topic, main argument and structure of your paper.
• The conclusion follows the same format as the introduction: it rephrases your topic and thesis statement, and it summarizes the progression of your arguments. Some people also like to add suggestions for the future or prompts for further reflection in their conclusions.

• Undergraduates mainly use one of three styles: author–date (e.g., APA), author–page (e.g., MLA) or notes–bibliography (e.g., Chicago). To learn more about citation formats, check out the resources available at the Academic Writing Help Centre.
• In the body of your paper, follow quotes with a citation that’s either enclosed in parentheses or flagged with a note number (a number in superscript). Note numbers should be accompanied by footnotes (corresponding references at the bottom of the page) or endnotes (corresponding references at the end of the paper). Meanwhile, parenthetical citations stand alone. Citations are used to clarify when you’ve borrowed ideas from others, and to direct readers to the source of those ideas. This means whenever you include content from other sources in your work — whether through a direct quotation, paraphrase or summary — you need to cite the source.
• A bibliography is the general term for the list of sources cited. It comes at the end of a paper. The bibliography provides more comprehensive information than the citations in the body of the paper. Generally speaking, each bibliography entry should have a corresponding parenthetical citation or note.
• Citing references can seem complicated, but the more you do it, the easier it gets. Each citation style has its own style guide, which provides explicit rules on how to handle almost any kind of reference you can think of (including citing AI). If you’ve checked the guide and still have questions, feel free to make an appointment with us!

• A useful starting point is to figure out which grammatical rules are tripping you up. To sharpen your skills, consider drawing on sources like your existing knowledge, feedback from your professors, insights from an Academic Writing Help Centre appointment, Grammar Monsteror HyperGrammar.
• And practice is a must if you want to improve your grammar. To get that practice in, you could read, analyze the structure of sentences in your course readings or book an appointment with a mentor — they can develop sample sentences for you to work on or pull examples from your own work.