ACADEMIC
RESOURCES FOR WRITING
PREWRITING
STRATEGIES
http://www.msu.edu/course/atl/125/fernandez/studgi/heurlist.html
A list of twelve different heuristics. Great strategies for developing
and organizing ideas before
writing.
http://www.studygs.net/writing/prewriting.htm
Information on and suggestions for pre-writing strategies. Includes
free writing, mind
mapping, brainstorming, and outlining. Look on the left side of the
screen for directions and
the center for helpful organizing graphics.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan1.html
Lots of ideas on how to start a paper. Discusses different approaches
to your topic and
suggests different invention strategies (heuristics) for coming up
with ideas.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_block.html
Great strategies for overcoming writer’s block. Lists specific
reasons for getting “stuck” and
give useful tips for each situation.
DIFFERENT WRITING
GENRES
Critical
Thinking Papers
http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/400Index.htm
Extensive information on critical thinking skills. Includes tips on
how to critically
evaluate logic, recognizing various viewpoints, and how to use critical
thinking skills.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/philosophy.html
Background information on the field of philosophy and description
of elements of philosophy
papers. Great tips on argument construction and taking a position.
Persuasive
/ Argumentative Papers
http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm
Description of persuasive/argumentative writing and informative list
of elements of a good
persuasive essay. Provides very useful strategies and steps to work
on this type of assignment.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/argument.html
Great background on arguments in academic essays. Gives definitions
and explanations of why
arguments are important.
Summary
Writing
http://users.drew.edu/~sjamieso/Summary.html
Extensive background information on summarizing, both in academics
and in real life. Explains
the key features of a summary and gives tips for summarizing (go to
“writing the summary
essay”).
http://lsa.colorado.edu/essence/guidelines.html
Offers great tips for summary writing. Click on specific topics for
useful definitions and examples.
Writing
about Literature
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_lit.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_fiction.html
These two pages contain a lot of information about how to write about
literature. They address
topics, research, reading the text, and bits of the writing process.
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature.html
Detailed background information on writing about literature. Gives
an explanation of the writing
process, steps to writing a paper about literature, and general tips.
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/writingcenter/handouts/litwrite.html
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/writingcenter/handouts/dos_lit.html
The first of these sites is a useful guide to writing about literature,
with tips on the mechanics
of your essay. The second site is a helpful list of “do’s”
and “don’ts” when writing about literature.
SENTENCE & PARAGRAPH LEVEL-ISSUES
Paragraph Structure and Development
http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/paragraphs.html
Useful information on paragraph development. Gives background information
on paragraph
structure and steps for writing a strong paragraph.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_pgrph2.html
Detailed information on paragraph development and structure. Covers
the topics of “unity”,
“coherence”, “topic sentences”, and “development”.
Very well-organized.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/CWS/wWORKSHOP/writer_resources/writing_tips/body_paragraphs.htm
Extensive information on writing body paragraphs. Descriptions of
common traits of paragraphs
and different ways to arrange body paragraphs. Includes useful tips
on controlling ideas and
transitions.
Paragraph
Focus
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/glossing.html
Describes the strategy of “glossing” to improve paragraph
focus and organize your paper.
http://www1.aucegypt.edu/academic/writers/paragraphs.htm
Explains why a paragraph should have one singular topic and gives
suggestions on how to focus
your body paragraphs. Gives ideas on topic sentences and developing
ideas.
Sentence
Level Issues
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_sentvar.html
Great suggestions for dealing with sentence-level trouble spots in
academic essays. Gives
suggestions on how to avoid choppy sentences, how to use the same
subject in multiple,
consecutive sentences, and how to write a series of sentences with
the same pattern or rhythm.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_sentclar.html
Strategies for improving sentence clarity. Great tips on how to write
strong, clear sentences in
your essays.
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/parstruc.html
Describes parallelism (writing sentences in similar patterns) and
explains how and why to use
parallel structures in your essays.
Thesis
Statements
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/CWS/wWORKSHOP/writer_resources/writing_tips/thesis_statements.htm
A definition and description of thesis statements. Great tips for
formulating and developing a thesis
for your essay.
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/thesis.html
Great tips
on writing a thesis statement with helpful steps to follow for developing
your own thesis.
return
to top
