Writing Tutorials
How the OASIS Supports Student Writers
The OASIS offers tutorials and recommends resources to help students progress toward mastery of college-level and academic writing. Our staff strives to assist students in all phases of the writing process, including thesis generation, revision/editing, essay/research paper formatting, etc.
When students visit the OASIS, they should bring a copy of the assignment instructions, required readings and resources, and any pre-writing or drafts they have completed. We are committed to helping students discover and express their ideas effectively. However, we do not assume responsibility for correcting all errors for students, nor do we dictate the content or style of students' writing.
Our goal reaches beyond simply helping students pass a particular assignment. We aim to guide students in benefiting from class instruction so that they may build writing skills for success in future coursework and their careers.
We are happy to serve students on a walk-in basis, but we encourage them to schedule a one-on-one writing consultation with a tutor best qualified for their needs.
The OASIS staff regularly evaluate and curate online resources to support student writers.
- Towson University's Online Writing Support site provides a comprehensive basic grammar tutorial, including explanations of grammar topics, self-teaching units, and interactive exercises.
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a well-organized, searchable site offering information and exercises for writing at all levels and for various purposes. Resources are organized for the needs of specific types of writers: middle and high school students, college students, instructors, adult learners (ESL, GED, Business), and professional writers. Browse the Purdue OWL site map to discover a wide range of writing topics and resources.
- Common Errors in English Usage, created by Prof. Paul Brians of Washington State University, includes an alphabetical index of common errors, along with lists of non-errors and spelling errors. A book version (3rd ed) of this site is available.
- Writing Commons is a free, peer-reviewed resource for students and faculty in college-level courses that require writing and research.
- UW-Madison Writer's Handbook, from the University of Wisconsin Writing Center, offers instructional materials for academic and professional writing--including research papers, literary analysis, cover letters, and resumes--as well as writing process and structure, grammar and punctuation, and citing references using various styles.
- WritingforCollege.org and OnlineGrammar.org are free, online companion textbooks for college writing students and their instructors, created by Univ. of Minnesota professor, Richard Jewell.
- Let's Get Writing!, from Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation, is a free, online textbook for first-year college writers.
- Grammar Bytes! Grammar Instruction with Attitude, created by Valencia College English Prof. Robin L. Simmons, includes grammar terminology and rules, printable handouts, PowerPoint presentations, videos, and interactive exercises.
- The Punctuation Guide is a comprehensive reference for American style punctuation.
- Paper Rater is a free, online writing analysis tool designed to help students improve the quality of their writing. Features include spelling and grammar check, style and word choice analysis, plagiarism detection, readability statistics, and a vocabulary builder tool. Paper Rater may be accessed anywhere an internet connection is available.
- Plagiarism.org includes videos and other resources for educators and students to help identify and avoid plagiarism.
- EasyBib, BibMe, and Citation Machine offer automated help for creating citations and bibliographies. Use with caution! When in doubt, consult the appropriate citation manual (see this list) for the style you are using and/or check with your instructor or a librarian.
- Purdue Online Writing Lab offers guidance and best practices for using citation generators responsibly.
- Writing a Literary Analysis -- a presentation from Purdue OWL; the PowerPoint file is available to download.
- How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay -- a handout from Bucks County Community College.
- Writing about Literature -- a Pearson e-book chapter that includes a sample literary essay.
- Summary vs. Analysis from University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center -- includes examples and an interactive video tutorial explaining the differences between summary and analysis as well as how and when to use each in a piece of writing.
- UW-Madison Writer's Handbook features several resources on literary analysis, including reading poetry, close reading, using literary quotations, and writing play reviews.
- Dr. Obermeier's Sample Paper Files -- student literary analysis papers with instructor comments in HTML and PDF format; from University of New Mexico.
- Sample Literary Analysis Essay from Fountainhead Press (PDF) -- includes annotations explaining effective essay elements, integration of quotations, and MLA formatting.
- Writing Guides, from The Writing Studio at Colorado State Univ., provide information about writing in Literature, Business, Engineering, and the Sciences, as well as career-related writing (resumes, curriculum vitae, and publications).
- UNC Writing Center: Writing Tips and Tools provides multimedia presentations and printable text handouts for all phases of the writing process, including tips for academic writing as well as writing for specific types of assignments and fields of study.
- Writing Across the Curriculum: An Introduction, from Purdue OWL, discusses writing as a means of learning (writing-to-learn) and writing conventions across disciplines (e.g., writing in Nursing and Science).
- Information about citation style guides used in various disciplines is available at Wikipedia and the Style Guide Overview at Purdue OWL.
- Lansing Community College Library's "Citing Sources" page links to resources for using MLA, APA, and several other citation styles
- MLA & APA Citation Styles links from the Ron E. Lewis Library. LSCO instructors generally require students
to use one of these two styles to document sources in research assignments.
- See this LSCO "Citations" libguide for more information about MLA, APA, and plagiarism.
- Style Manual Websites:
- EasyBib.com offers downloadable style guides and other citation resources.
- A Complete Guide to MLA 8th Edition
- How to Cite Anything in APA format (6th edition)
- How do I cite a . . . is a quick guide for how to cite a few uncommon source types in MLA and APA format.
- The EasyBib Writing Center Blog offers tips for citations and writing research papers.
- Sample Research Papers:
- MLA Sample Paper, from Purdue OWL.
- MLA Paper Formatting and MLA Sample Papers (PDF) at The MLA Style Center.
- APA Sample Papers (student and professional) from Purdue OWL.
- APA Paper Formatting and APA Sample Papers (PDF) at APA Style.
- Annotated Bibliography information and samples (MLA, APA, and Chicago Styles) from Purdue Owl.
- Guidelines and Examples for Citing Electronic/Online Resources:
- Purdue OWL - Citing Electronic Sources, MLA
- Purdue OWL - Citing Electronic Sources, APA
- Yale Center for Teaching and Learning, Citing Internet Sources - explains special considerations for using and citing online sources in academic writing; includes citation examples for MLA (7th edition), APA, and Chicago styles, along with guidelines for avoiding plagiarism.
- CrossRef.org offers the DOI Resolver, which locates articles and other materials by their unique DOI, or digital object identifier. *Note: The doi system is primarily associated with materials cited in APA format.
- Chicago-Style Citation Quick Guide, offered by the Chicago Manual of Style Online, is a resource used primarily by writers in the discipline of history.
- The American Political Science Association has published a style guide for students that is available online: APSA Style Manual for Political Science.