Writing Tips from UConn Faculty

• “Notes on Writing.” Richard N. Langlois, Professor of Economics, offers advice on style, punctuation, syntax, and usage.
  http://langlois.uconn.edu/WRITING.HTML
• Research and writing tips from Paul Lewis, Department of Ecology, and a Research guide on evolutionary biology, with links to science databases:
  http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/evolution/EEB245W/starting.html
  http://hydrodictyon.eeb.uconn.edu/courses/evolution/EEB245W/writing.html
• “How to Write an Excellent Paper” from Psych 135 Discussion Section offers a concise guide to structuring a paper as well as “Top Ten Writing Taboos.” Not just for psych papers! 
  http://psychlops.psy.uconn.edu/psych135/xlntwriting.html
  
  

(Please note that these links are to webpages of individual faculty members and the information in them is often tailored to particular courses. Not all of the advice is intended to fit all academic writing situations.)

Academic Honesty

• UConn Libraries’ “Plagiarism: How to Recognize it and How to Avoid It” is the first stop for any student about to begin a writing assignment. Be sure to read and use the “Anti-Plagiarizing Techniques”: http://www.lib.uconn.edu/using/tutorials/LILT/plagiarism.htm
• The Freshman English Program Statement on Plagiarism: http://english.uconn.edu/editor_files/undergrad/undergrad-freshman04.html
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab’s “Avoiding Plagiarism,” a good primer on accidental and deliberate plagiarism, tips on how to avoid it, and a quick synopsis of “common knowledge” and how to recognize it: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/research/r_plagiar.html
• See also “The St. Martin’s Tutorial on Avoiding Plagiarism,” by Margaret Price, for a guide on organizing and using research: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/plagiarismtutorial/default.asp?s=&n=&i=&v=&o=&ns=0&uid=0&rau=0
  
  
  

Critical Reading

• The University of British Columbia Writing Centre’s “Writing a Rhetorical Analysis,” is an indispensable checklist to help you prepare to write as you read: http://www.writingcentre.ubc.ca/workshop/tools/rhet1.htm
• “Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing,” the University of Toronto’s introduction to examining argument, evidence, and reasoning in a text, includes a list of practical tips: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/critrdg.html
  
  
  

Finding a Topic, Building an Argument, and Developing a Thesis

• The University of Connecticut Libraries’ “Choosing Your Topic,” a quick primer on topic development and thesis statements with links to library resources: http://www.lib.uconn.edu/using/tutorials/LILT/topic.html
• “Understanding Essay Topics: A Checklist” from the University of Toronto, a review of the concepts analyze, compare, evaluate, and argue. A great place to begin planning your paper: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/topics.html
• Need help framing your argument? Gerald Graff, University of Illinois at Chicago, offers an excellent step-by-step guide on constructing an argument:
  http://tigger.uic.edu/~ggraff/research/index.htm
• Bill Daly’s “Writing Argumentative Essays,” a detailed, step-by-step guide on constructing and writing an argumentative paper: http://www.ltn.lv/%7Emarkir/essaywriting/frntpage.htm
• “Thesis Statements,” a how-to guide to developing a thesis statement from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/thesis.html
• “Planning and Writing a Research Paper” from The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin, a guide to topic development, outlining, writing, and revising:  http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html
• “The Literary Essay,” a brief introduction to writing about character, theme, and tone, with links to definitions of basic literary terms, from the University of Victoria, Canada: http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/LiteraryEssay.html
  
  
  

Style

• “Clear, Concise and Direct Sentences,” a succinct guide to improving your writing from The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/ClearConciseSentences.html
• The ever-popular and easy-to-read online version of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style: http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
• Purdue University Online Writing Lab’s “Active and Passive Voice” explains the difference between them, how to choose, and how to change from one to the other: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html
• “Developing Coherent Paragraphs,” a guide to using and expanding on topic sentences and linking ideas within a paragraph from the University of Toronto:  http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/parag.html
• “The Science of Science Writing,” an article by George D. Gopen and Judith A. Swan on the principles behind effective scientific prose: http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/23947?fulltext=true
  
  
  

Punctuation

• Gary A. Olson’s "Punctuation Made Simple" covers the basics in an easy-to-read format: http://lilt.ilstu.edu/golson/punctuation/
• “Punctuation,” the University of Ottawa’s user-friendly outline of everything you ever wanted to know about commas, semicolons, colons, quotation marks, apostrophes, and dashes, with examples and review quizzes: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/punct.html
• The basics of semicolons from The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin: http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Semicolons.html
  
  
  

Grammar and Usage

• An excellent collection of grammar links from the Writing Center at the University of Chicago:
  http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/resources/grammar.htm#grammar
• Online grammar information and tutorials from publisher Bedford/St. Martin’s: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/exercisecentral/
• Check out the University of Minnesota Style Guide’s “Misused Words and Expressions,” “Words Pronounced or Spelled Similarly, but Different in Meaning,” and “Made-up Words and Words in Vogue”: http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/style/language-usage.html#Anchor-58644
  
  
  

Citing Sources

• Duke University Libraries’ online guide to citing sources and assembling a list of Works Cited, including MLA and APA in-text parenthetical citations and Turabian footnotes. Also links to an online Chicago Manual of Style and a CSE Manual (Scientific Style and Format). http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/
• APA Style.org’s online excerpts from the 5th edition of the Publication Manual cover APA style and citations and links to a handy “Electronic Media Spelling Guide”: http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
• Publisher Bedford/St. Martin’s excellent all-around guide to MLA, APA, Chicago, and CBE (Scientific Style and Format) styles: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html