Articles

Shorter pieces on specific writing problems. For the long cornerstone resources, see the guides.

• How to Write a Strong Thesis Statement

  Moving from a broad topic to a claim that can actually be argued and supported.

  12 March 2026Thesis statements16 min readArlene McCoy

• What Makes an Academic Source Credible?

  A practical test for judging sources when you cannot read the whole literature.

  2 March 2026Academic research20 min readArlene McCoy

• How Long Should an Essay Introduction Be?

  Why introduction length is a symptom of structure, not a rule to memorise.

  18 February 2026Essay writing23 min readArlene McCoy

• Integrating Sources Without Over-Quoting

  Paraphrase, summary, and quotation, and when each one is the right tool.

  4 February 2026Academic research25 min readArlene McCoy

• Reflective Writing That Still Counts as Academic

  How to write about your own experience and keep the analysis rigorous.

  21 January 2026Reflective writing29 min readArlene McCoy

• Planning a Capstone Project You Can Finish

  Scoping a long project so the research and the deadline agree with each other.

  9 January 2026Capstone projects35 min readArlene McCoy

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