WRITING CENTER INFORMATION

FACED WITH A PAPER? NEED SOME QUICK HELP?
TRY OUR POINTERS FOR PERFECT PAPERS

Stuck for a start?

If the standard textbook advice doesn't work for you, let the OWL (Online Writing Laboratory) at Purdue University give you some wise words.

The following links are from The Writer's Web, which is maintained by the University of Richmond.

Let the following fill-in form on "Where to Start a Paper" help stretch your thinking.

Try these approaches:

"Brainstorming"
"Pre-Writing: Keeping a Journal"
"Clustering for Ideas"
"Exploring Ideas Through 'Cubing'"
"Preparing to Write an Introduction"

Bludgeoned by "block"?

Use an IF. . . THEN format to analyze problems causing writer's block. ( IF this is your problem, THEN here's a strategy to help solve it.)

Consider common-sense suggestions for "Coping with Writing Anxiety."

Get ideas about "Freewriting: A Way Around Writer's Block."

Threatened by a thesis?

What exactly is a thesis? How do you write one? The following site presents a lucid explanation of what a thesis is and what it isn't.

Learn about "mapping" with a thesis. Then follow the development of a thesis with an illustration. A printout gives you a useful form for your own paper.

Content in confusion?

Check this user-friendly site for a splendid outline about outlining. You won't find better material than this.

Also see the sample outline.

For brief, clear information about "Organizing a Multiple-Subject Paper," check this site.

Questions about paragraphing?

"Transitioning: Beware of Velcro"
"Topic Sentences and Signposting"

For finer tuning of content, check these sites:

"Adding Action and Clarity"
"How to Make Sentences Clear and Concise"
"Focusing through Parallelism"

At a loss for words?

Profit by suggestions for "Building a Better Vocabulary." Then test yourself on the accompanying quizzes.

Subscribe to Wordsmith at wsmith@wordsmith.org and receive a word in the mail every day.

Or subscribe to any of the other sites listed in "Building a Better Vocabulary." They'll also send mail faithfully, even if it's only a word to enrich your vocabulary.

Grammar gotcha?

There is no magic solution to grammar problems, but there is plenty of good help. If you know you make better progress with personal one-on-one instruction, come for grammar work with a tutor in the Writing Center.

If you like to work by yourself, call up the quizzes in this section:

Structural flaws (#67-79)
Punctuation and basic mechanics (#80-99)
Stylistic considerations (#109-122)
Notorious confusables (#123-130)

Check essential points of grammar and style in the most famous grammar book of the century: Strunk and White's "little book"-The Elements of Style.

Searching for a good summary?

"Tips on Grammar, Punctuation, and Style"

Try an offbeat approach to one persistent problem. Be the first person you know to visit this home page:

The Apostrophe Protection Society

Polishing makes perfect

"Proofreading is a pain," says the voice from Bemidji State University (Minnesota). Here are excellent general and specific strategies to ease the pain. Also advice you won't often find: "A Few Myths about Sentences or Things You Might Want to Unlearn to Help You Edit."

Let advice from Harvard inspire you to go beyond running spell-check as the final effort in perfecting your paper.

"Editing the Essay, Part One"
"Editing the Essay, Part Two"

Help cultivate your individual writing voice with ideas about "Putting Voice into a Paper."

Don't put your head in the sand. Read this:

"Some Warning Signs of a Rushed Paper."

Ragged over research?

Check these valuable tips on research writing from The Modern Language Association.

A guide to all stages of the research paper process at researchpaper.com.

Writing online?

For everyone who sits down at the keyboard to write, here's common-sense advice worth hearing. The page includes "netiquette" cautions like avoiding "flames" and "spam."

Faculty Resources

The Writing Center looks forward to working with you and your students for the upcoming school year.  As you write your syllabi, we encourage you to include information about the center. While you are welcome to use your own statement, here is a sample paragraph you may use:

Writing Center Syllabus Statement

The Writing Center can help you with the writing you do for any of your classes. The center’s peer tutors will work with you at any stage of the writing process, from developing and organizing ideas to revising and editing drafts. Rather than editing your work for you, writing tutors will actively engage you in meaningful conversations about your writing and help you learn new strategies. The Writing Center is located in the Computing and Mathematics Building room #105. The center is open afternoons and evenings, Sunday through Thursday, for drop-in visits and appointments. Please bring with you the writing assignment you received from your instructor. For more information, visit the Writing Center web site or contact writingcenter@alb.edu.

This page was developed at Albright College
in the spring semester, 2002, by Patricia Hummel,
with the assistance of Rosemary Deegan and Barbara Anderson
and was given a design refresh in 2007.