Writing Guide: Home & Appointments

Image courtesy janeb13

As a graduate student at Meadville Lombard Theological School, you are not just here to learn about religion, theology, or social or political activism; you are also here to learn how to research and write about your field for an academic audience.  To put it another way, when you enter graduate school, you are not expected to already know how to research and write like someone with a MA/DMin/etc.; it is something to learn as part of earning that degree.  Know that because you have been accepted here, the faculty considers you academically capable of learning how to research and write like this.  Try your best, but don’t be afraid to make mistakes or earn the occasional bad grade along the way!  Mistakes are learning opportunities. 

As with any skill, good writing comes with practice, learning from examples, and outside help and guidance.  If you need guidance with any aspect of the academic writing process, including:

• Brainstorming paper topics
• Developing theses statements and arguments
• Constructive criticism of arguments and prose style
• Help finding sources and literature
• Note taking strategies
• Proofreading for grammar and style
• Proper citation and formatting
• Presentation and debate preparation
• More

John and the library are here to help!

Click here to schedule an appointment with John.

Appointments can be made for most business days between 9-5 Central Time.  If the available times do not work for you, email John at jdechant@meadville.edu.