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Writing Resources

The Writing Center has compiled a collection of resources to help students better understand writing concepts. The literature below references textbooks and includes examples for a variety of concepts, including the writing process, documentation, and special writing situations.

• 6 Typical Styles of Academic Papers
• Common Grammatical and Punctuation Errors
• Drafts and Revisions
• Structure of an Academic Paper
• Developing a Topic and Outline
• Useful Writing Resources for Any Student
• What is passive voice?
• Quoting and Paraphrasing
• Writing Styles Guides
• More Tips and Tools
• Academic Coaching Tools

The basics of academic writing

The key to writing good papers is understanding that academic writing is based on a claim that is backed up with evidence. These resources describe some of the key features of academic writing and are designed to help you master the rules of the writing game. 

• Six key features of academic writing: This handout maps out the structure of an academic paper, breaking it down into its component parts.
• Moving from the five-paragraph essay to college writing. From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• The argument is the centerpiece of the academic paper. This comes from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For information on how to structure a paragraph, UNC has another helpful handout.
• Writing Tips: Thesis Statements. From the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).
• Developing a good argument. OWL at Purdue. You might also look at the article on common literature essay prompts.
• Avoiding bias. From the Walden University Online Writing Center.
• Revising drafts. It's always a good idea, and this article explains why and gives helpful tips. From the UNC Writing Center.
• How to quote a source. This resource from The University of Wisconsin Madison Writing Center discusses how to situate quotes in academic writing.
• An example of mapping a controversy from John J. Wolfe III

Professional development writing

• Writing the Personal Statement. OWL at Purdue.
• Application Essays. You might also have a look at the guide to business letters.

Citing sources

• Purdue's Online Writing Lab has the most comprehensive descriptions of the three most commonly used citation styles, Chicago, MLA, and APA. Review a side-by-side comparison of reference lists and in-text citations.
• Also from OWL, a comprehensive list of the styles used in different disciplines from the most common to the more obscure.
• APA Style Blog can answer many of your more obscure questions about APA. Type them into the search box on the right. Hosted by the American Psychological Association.
• A step-by-step MLA formatting guide for your Word documents. From UMUC.
• Writing Style Guides

Punctuation and grammar

Punctuation is important. Poor punctuation can lead to all kinds of confusion, as we all know from the joke about the panda who walks into a bar. It also results in lower grades and unfair assumptions about the writer's intelligence or level of education. Fortunately, it's easy to learn and quick to fix! There are thousands of good websites about punctuation available. These are a few of our favorites.

• The Oatmeal Grammar Comics. From how and when to use whom, to the ten words you need to stop misspelling.
• Rules for capitalization: When you need an uppercase letter at the start of a word.
• The Punctuation Guide: Comma. A thorough guide to comma usage. The rest of the website is similarly helpful for different punctuation marks.
• Grammarly Handbook. This site provides in-depth articles on topics like parts of speech, mechanics, syntax, and even planning and organization for writing.
• Twelve Common Errors. The guide from the University of Wisconsin Madison covers common issues to look out for when you're proofreading your writing.

Invitations to Write

• Autobiography of a Reader
• College: What language is spoken here?
• Creating Words: Is lexicography for you?
• Culture Shock
• Creative Writing Invitation II: What does creativity mean to you?
• Creative Writing Invitation III: Where to you get your creative energy?
• Creative Writing Invitation IV: Free-writing -- knocking down the walls.
• Creative Writing Invitation V: Writing vivid description.
• Creative Writing Invitation VI: Where are you?
• Creative Writing Invitation VII: Character development and dialogue?
• Creative Writing Invitation VIII: Writing your own story?
• Indulging Dreams
• Instances of Injustices: A sequence of two invitations
• An Invitation to Evaluate Your Work
• An Invitation to Talk on Paper
• An Issue of Interest to You: A sequence of three invitations
• More Creative Writing Invitations I: Ways to get the creative juices flowing.
• More Creative Writing Invitations II: Invitations to go somewhere new.
• More Creative Writing Invitations III: Invitations to go deeper.
• Roots: Where do you come from?
• Self as Writer
• The Skills Exchange

Handouts and Worksheets