Student Blog

APA Formatting

Posted by in Writing

All through high school, and maybe even in middle school, teachers often encourage students to use MLA formatting for papers. It has been embedded in our brains for a long time that this is how papers should be set up. However, in college different areas of study may require students to learn a brand new formatting style for research papers. One of these formats is APA. Teachers who require this format will vary on how strictly they enforce its rules. However, you should always strive to be as accurate as…read more

Mar.27
0

Independent Clauses: The Nuclei of Writing

Posted by in Writing

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the prospect of a large essay, and many students find it a challenge to break the writing down into manageable parts. Then on top of that, a lot of students with LDs have a hard time putting their thoughts and ideas on paper. If this is the case, the result can be large paragraphs of unfinished and unorganized ideas in the form of run-on sentences. If you are nodding your head in agreement, this article may be helpful in your efforts to break this…read more

Sep.25
0

Annotated Bibliography

Posted by in Writing

“An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents [arranged in alphabetical order]. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.” http://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography Odds are you will probably have to write an annotated bibliography as part of a paper at some point in your college career. If you’ve never had to do one before, it can seem overwhelmingly daunting, and if you…read more

Sep.16
0

The Importance of Editing and Revising

Posted by in Writing

When writing papers we often assume that as soon as we’ve reached that word count we’re finished. We save it, print it, and go. Easy, right? Unfortunately the answer is no; it’s not that simple, and that mindset tends to encourage procrastination until the last minute. This also will mean papers will be turned in with errors, unnecessary mistakes, and even unclear information. Instead, there is a vital step in writing papers that many students tend to overlook and that will help you turn in an awesome paper: editing. This…read more

Apr.22
0

Email Etiquette

Posted by in Writing

In college, communication with professors is vital. Most classes will either meet one, two, or three times a week, and besides these times there are limited opportunities to communicate with professors outside of class and office hours. So what is a good way to get in touch with professors? The answer may seem odd to a high schooler, but sending emails is often the preferred method to communicate with instructors. This also goes for advisors, bosses, or anyone else with whom you need to make contact. Before coming to college,…read more

Apr.22
0

Setting It Up!

Posted by in Writing

When it comes to writing papers, often one of the most challenging aspects is not the actual writing portion but actually getting it started. In this blog I’m going to talk about practical and applicable ideas to successfully understand, organize, and start a paper. Many people often mistake starting with an outline as the first step. However, prior to this you need to be able to fully understand the assignment and its requirements.  If you are too rushed to get a paper out of the way, you could easily make…read more

Mar.26
0

I Can’t Write to Save My Life

Posted by in Writing

Okay, so let’s face it…most people dread the writing that comes with attending college. So many people say they can’t write, hate writing, or both! On the flip side, writing is one of our most important forms of communication. We use it for all aspects of life. Just look around, writing is literally everywhere. Whether we like it or not, being able to communicate through writing is extremely crucial and vital to our education and life past college. Whether you are hoping to be a doctor, lawyer, police officer, musician,…read more

Mar.20
0

Campus Writing Resources

Posted by in Writing

Writing papers in college is easy right? I just turn in one draft and boom, it’s done. Well technically yes, but a composition class grading system does not offer a lot of room for mistakes and mess-ups. Many elements contribute to a paper’s final score, and each paper is often worth a large chunk of your final grade. I’ve learned that writing is one area where colleges generally offer tons of support resources. Students who struggle with writing can still have good grades in English classes! The key, however, is…read more

Mar.20
0