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The Writing Process | Academic Writing
Strategies for Essay Writing
Clear and Concise Style
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Conciseness Check the left-hand menu on this page for other style articles, including sentence variety, emphasis, and appropriate language. (Purdue)
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How to Make Sentences Clear and Concise: a brief guide to Richard Lanham's Paramedic Method for rescuing sentences. (Univ. Richmond)
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The Elements of Style (William Strunk, 1918 ed.)
Thesis and Argument
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Developing a Thesis (Harvard)
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Developing Strong Thesis Statements (Purdue)
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Developing a Central Claim (Duke)
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Argument (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Writing in College: A Short Guide to College Writing by Joseph M. Williams and Lawrence McEnerney (Univ. of Chicago): This valuable and concise guide for students making the transition from high school to college writing discusses crafting an argument, making a point, and understanding professors' expectations.
- What is an Academic Paper? (Dartmouth) Another valuable introduction to college-level writing, this guide includes sections on and Using Appropriate Tone and Style.
Structure, Paragraphs, and Transitions
Essay Structure
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Writing: Considering Structure and Organization (Dartmouth)
Paragraph Unity and Coherence
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Coherence (Tina Blue, writing instructor at Univ. Kansas)
Transitions
- Transitions and Transitional Devices (Purdue)
Introductions and Conclusions
- Beginning the Academic Essay (Harvard)
- Introductions (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Ending the Essay: Part 1 (Harvard)
- Ending the Essay: Part 1 (Harvard)
- Conclusions (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Productivity
Microsoft Office365
Download and install Microsoft Office 365 on your personal computer
Grammarly
Download Grammarly to your computer and let automatically detect any grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, and style mistakes in your writing. It’s easy to use:
- Copy and paste any English text into Grammarly’s Editor, or install Grammarly’s free browser extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. Grammarly will help you write correctly on nearly every site on the web.
- Grammarly’s algorithms flag potential issues in the text and suggest context-specific corrections for grammar, spelling, wordiness, style, punctuation, and even plagiarism. Grammarly explains the reasoning behind each correction, so you can make an informed decision about whether, and how, to correct an issue.
- Download Grammarly for Microsoft® Office on Windows.
Trello
Trello will help you get organized! Whether your organizing your class notes, creating flashcards, or working on a group project, the Trello visual card system will help you get organized, assign tasks, and collaborate with your team in real time.
Optional Online Learning Resources
Khan Academy
Khan Academy provides free video libraries, interactive challenges and assessments for students. Parents, coaches and teachers can also keep track of what their student is learning.
Coursera
Coursera offers online courses for free from top universities all over the world. A wide range or courses are offered, including biology, mathematics, business, computer science, humanities and more. Those looking to expand their knowledge, sharpen their resume, or advance their career will find the courses here to fulfill that need.
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