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Academic Writing Process
General Considerations | Prewriting | Drafting/Writing the Essay | Revising | Other Academic Writing | Document Design
General Considerations
Essay Writing Workshop (Writer's Complex)
Defines purpose and value of the essay in this brief reading.
Essay Writing Workshop: Nature of the Beast/Academic Writing (Writer's Complex)
This short reading describes the purpose, characteristics and value of writing in college-level learning.
Faculty Lounge: Informal Writing (Writer's Complex)
A one page reading describing the purpose and uses of informal writing in developing and exploring ideas.
Faculty Lounge: Principles of Writing and Sequencing Prompts (Writer's Complex)
Features eight suggestions to help the writer select and develop a topic.
Plagiarism and How to Avoid It (Genesee Valley Writing Center)
This reading outlines the college's policy and offers specific hints on how to avoid plagiarism.
Reference Desk (Writer's Complex)
Useful web links to dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, usage guides subject discipline organizers and English as a second language (ESL) resources.
The Write Way: Argument (Writer's Complex)
A longer reading outlining the purpose and value of using arguments to establish facts and persuade readers.
The Write Way: Checklist for Thesis-Support Essay (Writer's Complex)
A final review to help writers confirm they have structured a strong thesis-based essay. This reading is the culmination of the steps outlined in the in the Essay Writing Workshop.
The Write Way: How to Respond to Writing Assignments (Writer's Complex)
Outlines brief five steps to help new or returning college students get started with a writing assignment.
The Write Way: Key Terms in College Writing (Writer's Complex)
Writing assignments often specify certain "modes of thinking" or ways of addressing the topic at hand. This is a one-page reading that defines the following terms: summarize, interpret, evaluate, critique, react, define, describe, compare, contrast, discuss, etc.
The Write Way: 3- Step Strategy for Playing the Right Language Game When Writing College Papers (Writer's Complex)
This is short reading offers writers a method to assure that they fully understand the expectations communicated in a writing assignment.
The Write Way: Time and Place Management (Writer's Complex)
This is a brief summary that estimates the length of time needed to complete different types of writing assignments.
The Write Way: Types of Papers (Writer's Complex)
This is an extensive list describing different types of college writing assignments: essays, research papers, summaries, reaction papers, personal journals, book reviews, synthesis, reviews of the literature and an annotated bibliographies.
The Write Way: The Unskilled and the Skilled Writer at Work (Writer's Complex)
This two-column chart compares the approaches and activities of a skilled and an unskilled writer.
The Write Way: Writer's Block (Writer's Complex)
Learn how to overcome this obstacle by understanding its causes.
Prewriting
Essay Writing Workshop: Developing Ideas for Writing/Prewriting (Writer's Complex)
This reading explains the purpose and value of prewriting in helping writers experiment with ideas and approaches. This page include links to nine useful prewriting techniques.
Finding Your Thesis (Genesee Valley Writing Center)
This is a step-by-step guide to aid in 1) choosing and selecting a topic, 2) writing the thesis sentence, and 3) developing an outline. Includes many helpful examples to illustrate each step.
Drafting/Writing the Essay
Essay Writing Workshop: Shaping Information (Writer's Complex)
This is an extensive reading that explores the development of an essay thesis. Specific steps are outlined to help writers define their topics, determine the types of evidence needed, develop a topic sentence, order ideas, prepare an outline and write the first draft.
The Outline (Genesee Valley Writing Center)
Learn the mechanics of preparing an outline and its value in organizing and shaping ideas within an essay or other writing assignment.
Revising
Essay Writing Workshop: Rewriting or Revising (Writer's Complex)
This lengthy reading explains the why and how of reviewing and rewriting an essay draft. Includes links to tips and examples that demonstrate how to: revise and proofread, check the logical order of paragraphs, create transitional sentences, and evaluate the appropriateness of language used in the essay.
Other Academic Writing
File Cabinet (in its entirety) (Writer's Complex)
Examine samples of student writing assignments by area of study, by type of writing assignment, or by individual study. To access the File Cabinet, users will need to provide an Empire State College web account login and password. Instructions to obtain a password are also provided.
Guidelines for a Critical Book Review (Genesee Valley Writing Center)
This is a brief reading that outlines the four steps to writing a critical book review. Includes examples.
Document Design
The Write Way: General Guidelines for Formatting Your Paper (Writer's Complex)
General guidelines on paper, margins, line spacing, page numbers, headings and titles, tables and figures.