Writing Resources

The Academic Success Center uses a genre-centered approach. This means we believe there is no such thing as good writing. Instead, all writing should be judged based on whether it's appropriate for the context and the audience. How do we know what's appropriate? By finding good examples and doing what they do! Our consultants can help you to identify genre expectations and to meet them in the ways your instructors expect.

Writing Resources

Genre What are you writing and who is it for?	Genre, Context, and Content Understanding Genre Audience, Purpose, and Content Common Genres Planning to Write Project Planning How to Create an Effective Presentation
Content What do you need or want to say?	Responding Effectively to Homework Questions Finding Your Topic Building Effective Thesis Statements Graphic Organizers Collecting and Using Research Research as Me-Search Links to an external site. MCC Library Resources Finding Online Resources (through MCC's library) Finding Fallacies Download Finding Fallacies
Organization Order of information in your project	Graphic Organizers Building Effective Thesis Statements Methods to Organize an Essay Using Clustering to Organize Ideas Reverse Outlining Effective Introductions
Structure Structure of paragraphs and and development of ideas	PIE Paragraph Structure Links to an external site. Writing S.E.X.I. Paragraphs S.E.X.I. Paragraph Discussion Handout Download S.E.X.I. Paragraph Discussion Handout Organizing Chronological Paragraphs Links to an external site. Writer's Web: Writing Effective Paragraphs Links to an external site.
Coherence Connecting ideas between sentences and paragraphs	Creating Effective Transitions Writing Concisely: Dealing with Wordiness Links to an external site. Paragraph Writing in English: Paragraph Unity and Coherence Links to an external site. Coherence in Writing Links to an external site.
GUM Grammar, usage, and mechanics	Sentence Boundaries and Fragments Commas Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences "Correct" Language Adding Your Name and the Page Number in a Header Links to an external site. Punctuation: A Few Basic Rules Booklet Download Punctuation: A Few Basic Rules Booklet Merriam Webster's List of Commonly Confused Words Links to an external site. Montgomery College's List of Commonly Misspelled and Misused Words Links to an external site. Punctuating and Paragraphing Dialogue Download Punctuating and Paragraphing Dialogue

 

Other Resources

Other Resources Included here are links to a variety of online resources that may be useful for your work

Purdue University Online Writing Laboratory (OWL) Links to an external site. - This website is an excellent resource for a wide variety of issues, including MLA and APA formatting and citations, writing resumes, avoiding plagiarism, subject-specific writing conventions for classes like history or engineering, and support for students who do not have English as their primary language. Tips & Tools Links to an external site. - The Writing Center of the University of North Carolina hosts this collection of links dealing with all the steps  of writing essays and doing researching in a variety of subjects. Pexels Links to an external site. -  A website with royalty-free images and photos, this collection can be useful for academic work requiring visual elements or for multi-modal projects. These images should still be cited in your work. Pixabay Links to an external site. - This site offers many royalty-free photos and images, but some others do have a fee. Still provide a citation for these in your work. Vecteezy Links to an external site. - Offering royalty-free images, vectors, photos, and videos, this resource can be useful for multi-modal projects. Create a Graph Links to an external site. - The National Center for Education Statistics runs this website, including a Kids Zone that allows for the creation of charts and graphs such as pie charts, bar graphs, line graphs, and x-y axis plotting. Import a MS Word Outline into PowerPoint Links to an external site. - Running less than 1:30, the Microsoft video explains how to quickly and easily turn a Word outline into a PowerPoint presentation. This is particularly helpful in group settings for projects that require slides to support spoken information. It's also useful for turning brainstormed ideas into slides.