We used oxalic and sulfuric acid electrolytes in conjunction with a home-made anodization cell (employing a two-step procedure) to fabricate porous anodic alumina (PAA) templates of various pore sizes. We chose applied voltage, electrolyte concentration, and anodization time as our explanatory variables at constant temperature. We carried out a central composite design and utilized response surface methodology to evaluate the significance of our explanatory parameters and deduce a model for generating the desired PAA pore diameter. We examined our PAA templates with a field-emission scanning electron microscope and we used a current density curve to optimize conditions that yield the desired pore diameter. Our work is directly pertinent to rigorously controlling and understanding the anodizing process of aluminum foil. (C) 2018 The Electrochemical Society.