Wednesday, October 17, 2018

A Few Helpful Websites on Writing



We’re just past the halfway mark of our semester! Halloween is around the corner, then Thanksgiving, then we’re done. Wow! Time is really flying. If you find yourself rushed and don’t think you can visit us in person (or you’re not ready to submit your paper to SWC Online yet), here are some great online resources that can help you almost as well as we can.

MLA & APA Documentation: My absolute favorite website (besides the SWC’s, of course) for all things citations is the Purdue OWL. This is Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL). They’ve recently given their site a revamp, so if you’re a previous visitor, you may be surprised. The Purdue OWL handles everything from MLA to APA and everything in between. I trust in the OWL, and you can, too!

Chicago Style Documentation: Many consider Chicago style to be one of the trickier citation styles to use. If you’re mostly comfortable with MLA and APA, this style can be a little challenging. The Chicago Style Manual’s site is a great resource for navigating this citation style. Shout-Out to our History and Art History majors who have Chicago style down!

Grammar Help: Grammar Girl is a great site for writers. There are literally hundreds of quick grammar tips to help you out with any writing issue. There are even blog posts that discuss common issues that are topical and useful! Mignon Fogarty is the founder, and she has B.A. in English from the University of Washington in Seattle and an M.S. in biology from Stanford University.

Literary Analysis Tips: Writing a literary analysis? This can be a tough one. Many students put too much summary in and not enough analysis because they can’t figure out the ways to analyze their text. Goshen College has a great resource to give you some jumping off points for your literary analysis. These are great guidelines to keep in mind while brainstorming for your paper.

SWC Online: And last, but definitely not least, is the Stone Writing Center’s website. Our site has recently been redone, and we’re ready to help you! We have tips on everything from grammar and word choice to citation styles. All of our advice has been carefully worded to help you figure out even the most confusing writing topics. It even includes our hours, contact information, and a link to send us your writing online.

These are just a few of my favorite writing websites that I wanted to share with you, Roxy Readers. When life gets in the way and you can’t come see us in person or you run out of time to submit your writing to SWC Online, these resources will come in handy. I hope that the second half of your semester goes well and you ride the waves into finals week.

See you next time the sun is up, the breeze is cool, and the waves roll into view. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Monday, October 1, 2018

Do I Really Need a Tutor?

Hello again, Roxy Readers! We’re well into our fall semester, and we are very busy helping students with their first major writing assignments. Are you working on your paper, too? You may think that you’ve got this, but even the best writers need help sometimes. If you’re asking yourself whether you need a tutor, the answer is yes, you do.

I’ll walk you through the different stages of writing and demonstrate how a tutor can help you with each one.
  1. Unpacking the Assignment Sheet: Sometimes there’s a lot of information, and it can be a little confusing. No worries. We got this! We’ll help you understand the prompt and other assignment requirements like documentation style. Having a set of trained eyes look over your assignment sheet can really help you be ready to tackle that paper!

  2. Brainstorming: So now you understand the assignment, but you don’t know exactly what to write about. We can chat with you and help you bounce ideas around. We’ll sit with you as you capture your ideas and get a lead for THE idea for your paper. We can even talk you through organizing your ideas so that you can be one step closer to beginning a draft.

  3. Outlining: An outline can be a great help in organizing your thoughts especially if you’re really stuck. The outline functions as a little roadmap for your paper. We can review sample outlines and make sure that your ideas are organized according to your professor’s instructions.

  4. The Actual Writing Part: We find that it it’s most productive when you can do this on your own, but if you’re stuck on a sentence or a paragraph, we will gladly help you work through your writer’s block! We are also whizzes at APA and MLA and everything in between! We can help you integrate sources and polish your works cited pages. Our citation game is so strong that it will blow your socks off!

  5. Revising and Editing: We will read through your paper and point out areas that could use some improvement. We can also give you mini lessons on things that may need some extra attention. For example, we can walk you through a lesson on fragments, word choice, citations, and much more! We want to empower you so that you’re able to revise and edit your own paper. We will gladly help you along the way, but it is YOUR paper, not ours.
Believe me! You will benefit from any and all of these things when visiting with one of our tutors. I know that I didn’t cover everything because there are so many things that the SWC does, but we want you to feel comfortable coming to us for any sort of writing question. There is no question too large or too small for us to tackle. Come see us, say Hi, and meet our tutors. We look forward to meeting you!

See you next time the sun is up, the breeze is cool, and the waves roll into view. ‘Til then, hang ten!

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