Writing in specific disciplines

Succeeding in college requires performing well in different kinds of courses and on various kinds of assignments.

The academic community is divided into broad subject areas called disciplines. The disciplines are generally grouped into five major fields of study, which are further broken down into more specific subjects. The five disciplines and a few representative subjects are

• social sciences: anthropology, political science, psychology, sociology

• natural sciences: biology, chemistry, physics

• mathematics and computer science

• humanities: art, history, languages, literature, music

• professions and applied sciences: business, education, journalism, nursing

Each discipline has its own set of expectations and conventions for both reading and writing. Some of the expectations and conventions—writing with a clear main idea, for instance—are common across disciplines. Other expectations and conventions are unique to each discipline. These include the following:

• purpose for writing

• questions asked by scholars and practitioners

• types of evidence

• language and writing conventions

• citation style

When you are asked to write in a specific discipline, start by becoming familiar with the distinctive features of writing in that discipline.

Writer’s Help provides guidelines for writing in nine subject areas:

• biology

• business

• criminal justice and criminology

• education

• engineering

• history

• music

• nursing

• psychology

Each section begins with advice about the expectations for writing in that discipline and includes a model or two of student writing.

See also Writing about Literature