Writing Paragraphs
General resources about paragraphs
– http://www2.actden.com/WRIT_DEN/tips/paragrap/index.htm
– https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/
Topic sentences
– Topics and controlling ideas with many great examples
– Topic sentences for body paragraphs
– More examples and a few exercise questions
Editing practice
– http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Paragraph-Correction.htm
Writing Essays
Hooks
– A presentation I made and used in RW 450 about hooks
Thesis statements
– A site about what a thesis statement is and is not
– http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/
– http://www.evansville.edu/writingcenter/downloads/thesis.pdf
Body paragraphs
– How thesis statements and topic sentences work together
Transitions – Information
– Transition words and phrases for different types of essays
– A similar list of transitions
– Transitions list and a practice exercise
– A transitions list that says which ones are stronger and weaker
– Transitions for comparison and contrast
Transitions – Exercises
– A ten-question quiz using sentences
– Another sentence-level transitions quiz
– A twenty-question quiz using paragraphs
– Choose the type of transition
– Conjunctions and transitions quiz
Conclusions
– http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/conclude.html
– http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conclude.html
General Writing
– http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ Purdue OWL: One of the most comprehensive writing websites out there!
– Many university writing centers have awesome ‘Resources’ sections on their websites. They talk about all steps in the writing process. Here are a few: [http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/writing-resources/wc-quick-guides George Mason University], [http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/ University of North Carolina], [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/resources.html Harvard], [http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb.html University of Richmond].
– [http://eslbee.com/ ESLBee] has great information, example essays, and activities.
– Engvid.com has a [http://www.engvid.com/how-to-write-an-effective-essay/ nice video] about the writing process. They also have a [http://www.engvid.com/topic/writing/ whole section of writing videos].
[b]Dictionaries, etc.[/b]
– Check out the [http://www.learnersdictionary.com/ Merriam Webster] Learner’s Dictionary or the [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/ Cambridge] Learner’s Dictionary. These are especially made for students like you, so they include extra information and examples!
– The best part about [http://dictionary.reference.com/ Dictionary.com] is the “Use this word in a sentence” link. If you look up a word, you will find it to the right of the word. Click and it will collect many many example sentences for you!
– Check out a [http://thesaurus.com/ thesaurus] for synonyms and vocabulary variety.
– If you have questions about words and phrases, consult the [http://forum.wordreference.com/forumdisplay.php?f=6 WordReference forum]. Search the posts, or post your own question!
Process Writing
Brainstorming
– Here’s a website about developing a research question: http://www.umflint.edu/library/research/selecttopic.htm developing a research question.
– For similarities and differences, use a [http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/pdf/venn.pdf Venn Diagram].
– For a process or causes and effects, try a [http://spreadsheets.about.com/od/excelformatting/qt/090805-excel-flowchart-template.htm flow chart]. Here’s a [https://bubbl.us/ website that helps you make one].
– [http://www.eslflow.com/brainstorming.html ESLFlow] has a lot of different graphic organizers and examples.
[b]Research[/b]
– Start at the Northern Virginia Center [http://www.lib.vt.edu/nvc/ library page]. Use Summon or check specific databases or journals. Remember to use “and”, “or”, and “not” in your searches, and put phrases in quotation marks. Always search for “full text only”!
– [http://scholar.google.com/ Google Scholar] and [http://books.google.com/ Google Books] are better than Google.
– You might need to find a good old-fashioned book, so check out your [http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library/branches/ local library] or (if you want an adventure) the [http://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress].
– You can’t cite [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page Wikipedia] in your paper, but it is good for one thing: use the links at the bottom of each article to find other sources.
– No wikis, blogs, or about.com!
– All sources must be [b]credible[/b] and [b]relevant[/b]!
[b]Scholarly sources[/b]
– Here is a [http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/spmaterials/ nice website comparing scholarly sources with popular magazines and trade journals].
– And here is [http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/how/scholarly.htm another table that compares characteristics of scholarly and popular sources].
– Here is a video about [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEsAKqXSfbY the 3 main types of scholarly articles].
[b]Outline[/b]
– You don’t need the transitions, but otherwise [http://spot.pcc.edu/~dwerkman/formal.html this outline] for a speech about cultural differences is great.
– Here is a nice [https://www.msu.edu/~lewisbr4/outline.html general 5-paragraph essay outline].
– This [http://dianahacker.com/pdfs/hacker-levi-mla.pdf sample paper] is in MLA (not APA) format, but it’s a good example of how much information you can include in the outline!
[b]Counter arguments[/b]
– Here is [http://ww2.shoreline.edu/doldham/101/html/what%20is%20a%20c-a.htm a very complete explanation] of the purpose and form of a well-written counter argument.
– [http://www.eluprogram.com/Writing_a_Counterargument_and_Refutation.pdf This pdf] includes the structures commonly used for counter arguments.
[b]Annotated Bibliography[/b]
– Of course the Purdue OWL [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/ has a nice explanation].
– So does the [http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/annotated-bibliographies/ UNC Writing Center]. (Your assignment is a short “Combination” type of annotated bibliography.)
– Here are some samples from [http://www2.washjeff.edu/users/kmcevoy/annotated_bibliography_sample.html Washington & Jefferson College], from [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/ the OWL] (yours can be shorter than this!), and from [http://write.siu.edu/Handouts/Writing%20an%20Annotated%20Bibliography.pdf the SIU Writing Center].
[b]APA[/b]
– My favorite is the [http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Purdue OWL APA guide].
– Another great option is Diana Hacker’s [http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch06_o.html APA guide].
– The ladies running the APA Workshop at the Northern Virginia Center recommended the [http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa Cornell APA Style Guide].
– Here is the [http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx official online APA tutorial].
– And here is [http://youtu.be/A_sy4LxaNwo a great video about how to set up APA format in Word 2010].
– Here is a video about [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ia-ambBXk writing an abstract in APA style].
– How to cite [http://www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/cite-another-source.aspx a source cited in another source].
– We use APA citation style, but not all fields of study do that. [http://gsrc.ucla.edu/gwc/resources/citation-styles.html Here] is a nice list of different majors and the citation styles they use.
Reporting verbs
– [http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/english-as-a-second-language/referring-to-sources]
– [http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/learning_english/leap/grammar/reportingverbs/]
– [http://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/learning_guides/learningGuide_reportingVe
Information on similes and metaphors:
– http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-similes-metaphors.aspx
Christine Bobal 