Helpful Resources
There are at least a hundred places on the web where you can go for help in writing. While
many of these sources are exceptionally well designed, easy to navigate, and very helpful,
two sites are especially worth visiting if you have questions.
The University of
Victoria's Hypertext Writer's Guide has it all: hundreds of pages on everything from
finding and narrowing a topic to typing the final draft. At this site you'll find
suggestions for doing research papers, developing paragraphs, citing sources, avoiding
grammatical errors like sentence fragments and comma splices, using apostrophes correctly,
knowing when and when not to use the passive voice, choosing the proper words, and on and
on. There are several pages devoted to the definitions and uses of literary and rhetorical
terms and a number of pages on argumentation. There's even a page that tells you how to
read marking and proofreading symbols. If you're looking for help online, this is really
the only place you need to visit.
Purdue University's OnLine
Writing Lab (OWL) is the best writing center on the web. In fact, it's the site most
other writing centers (like ours) link to. At Purdue's OWL you'll find at least 150
"handouts" providing help on everything related to writing. Many of the handouts
contain exercises that will allow you to practice what you've learned. There are also
several handouts that are useful for writers whose first language is not English.
Other Useful Sites: