Online Resources

The CTL encourages students to take charge of their writing process and information literacy. As part of our commitment to self-directed learning, we encourage students to use the many excellent online writing resources available through SHU and other reputable institutions. Below are online resources that students may find helpful:

General and Multidisciplinary Writing Resources

• Excelsior Online Writing Lab

Format

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab
  Offers the perfect intro to using APA.
• Scribber
  Offers a concise summary of the differences between APA 6thand 7^th editions
• The MLA Style Center
  How to format an MLA paper.
• Purdue’s MLA formatting and style guide
  A great place to learn how to use MLA.
• Purdue: Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition
  A good introduction to using Chicago style.

Introducing Evidence

• Antioch: APA Signal Phrases for Quotes and Paraphrases
  A convenient go-to site for how to introduce evidence and quoted passages in an APA paper.
• Antioch: MLA Signal Phrases for Quotes and Paraphrases
  Also from Antioch, but for MLA signal phrases.

Formulating A Strong Title for a Paper

• SHU: Organizing Academic Research Papers: Choosing a Title
  An excellent guide to writing a title for a research paper.
• University of Minnesota: Quick Tips
  A very good general introduction to writing titles for academic essays.

Mechanics

• Baruch College: Grammar, Punctuation & Mechanics
  This site has it all, from sentence structure to grammar and punctuation.
• Butte College: Independent and Dependent Clauses: Coordination and Subordination
  What is an independent clause? A good explanation if clauses cause you headaches. 
• Stanford University: Top Twenty Errors in Undergraduate Writing
  Another list of errors to watch out for. Worth a bookmark!

Style

• University of Leeds: Academic Writing
  A good introductory description of strong academic writing.  Explore the links, which are also helpful.
• Duke University: A Short Guide to Academic Writing Style
  An excellent how-to with do’s and don’ts for undergraduate writers.
• UC Berkley: Nine Basic Ways to Improve Your Style in Academic Writing
  This is an excellent how-to guide for both  novice and experienced writers, concise and  to the point: a real gem!

Paragraph Structure

• Purdue University: Paragraphs
  All the basics of paragraph structure!
• Hamilton College: Paragraph Structure
  An excellent example and explanation of a well-structured paragraph.

Thesis Development

• Harvard University: Developing a Thesis
  A good introduction to writing and developing a thesis statement.
• Purdue University: Developing a Thesis
  This site is relevant to argumentative essays about literary topics.
• Swarthmore: Developing a Thesis Statement
  A good general guide to developing a thesis.
• University of Wisconsin-Madison