General Writing Resources: Process, Principles & Critique
Writing Process: The most effective way to go about writing any document is to include planning and revision stages--along with the actual writing stage--in your writing process.
Writing Principles: As you write, focus on writing principles that are most responsible for the effectiveness of your document. Experienced writers refer to these as Higher Order Concerns (HOCs). They include the following: purpose, audience, content/development, organization, and proofreading/editing.
Critique: Use this checklist to critique your work to pump up your grade.
- Writing Process (Purdue OWL)Information on pre-writing (invention), developing research questions and outlines, composing thesis statements, and proofreading.
- A Writer's ChecklistUniversity of Montana Writing Center
Online Resources for more general writing information. Bookmark these!
These sites have useful materials on general writing topics. Many of them are from university writing centers.
- Online Writing Lab (OWL)One of the best known sources for all aspects of writing from citations to specific types of writing assignments. (Purdue University)
- Writing Guides(Colorado State University Writing Center) Help with developing ideas, choosing and refining topics, reading critically, planning your document, and organizing your ideas. Also includes specific discipline guides.
- Writing Center Quick Guides(George Mason University) General writing practices, writing as Process--including help with understanding your instructor's prompt--along with writing in different genres and research and grammar help.
- Writing Center Handouts(University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Reliable advice and helpful handouts on writing strategies, citations, style, sentence level concerns, assignments, and some writing for specific fields.
- The Elements of Style(William Strunk, Jr.) Considered a classic reference book and a must-have for any student looking for rules of usage and principles of composition.
- Paragraphs and topic sentences(Indiana University Bloomington) Briefly and clearly shows how to compose organized and coherent paragraphs along with some useful transitions.
For advice on grammar, try these resources:
- Common Commas (Utah State University Writing Center)Eight good ways to use commas.
- Strategies for sentence variation(Purdue Online Writing Lab)
- Emphasis in sentence construction(Bedford St. Martin)
- Five basic structures of simple sentences(University of Montana Writing Center)
- One idea per sentence(Springer)
- How to write clear sentences(Grammar Girl)
For more on writing academic essays, try these.
- Three ways to support an argument(University of Montana Writing Center)
- How to write a thesis statement(Indiana University Bloomington)
- Writing Clarity CalculatorThis site analyzes a sample of your writing and rates it for clarity and readabilty.
- Hemingway EditorThis is a fee-based app designed to help improve your prose.