Online Writing Resources
Use the table below to skip directly to the resource you are interested in:
- Academic Skills
- Career and Study
- Citation Styles and Using Sources
- Language Resources
- Open Book Exams
- Oral Presentations
- Preparing and Writing Your Thesis
- Publishing
- Research Writing in the Disciplines
- Specific Genres
Academic Skills
Reading Skills
Effective Reading - University of New South Wales
Useful guidelines and suggestions on this ever difficult topic.
Critical Reading
The Fundamentals of Critical Reading and Effective Writing - Dan Kurland
We quote: "Everyone complains that students cannot read well… and yet most high schools and colleges offer no course in critical reading. This is the website for just such a course."
Critical Reading Techniques - Adison Wesley Longman
A straightforward overview of the steps of a critical reading process.
Evaluating Information Found on the Internet - Johns Hopkins University
Careful coverage of exactly what information to look out for when using an Internet source.
Notetaking Skills
Taking Notes from Research Reading - Writing Support, University of Toronto
So many people assume that taking notes is something they don't need to learn. This page explains why good note taking is crucial to academic writing, and gives you tips on how to do it.
5 Methods of Notetaking - California Polytechnic State University
Clear, straightforward descriptions of five ways of taking notes. Mostly for lectures, but can be applied to reading a lot of the time as well.
Revising & Editing
Revising and Editing - University of Queensland
Useful guidelines when you are trying to revise and edit a first draft
Editing and Proofreading Strategies for Revision - Purdue Writing Lab
Very detailed and precise suggestions for what to check as you edit. Rather more concerned with the micro level and somewhat prescriptive but still useful.
Time Management
Time Management - University of New South Wales
Another very well organised page from this excellent Australian Learning Centre. Many useful ideas and tips.
Career and Study
Statements of Purpose - Center for Academic Writing, CEU
Have a look at our own guidelines, based on our workshops on writing statements of purpose. This site also contains links to several other sites that deal with statements of purpose. For help with research proposals, look at our thesis proposals section in the academic writing section above.
Have a look at a video taken at the CEU Open House 2010 at the How to write a successful personal statement workshop
Writing a Curriculum Vitae - Center for Academic Writing, CEU
A résumé or curriculum vitae is one of the most important documents in getting you a job or a study place, yet so many students write CVs that do not show them at their best. Our detailed website on how to write a CV gives you all the information you need. Recommended by the Careers Center!
Cover letters for job applications - Center for Academic Writing, CEU
A résumé on its own is not enough to get you a job. This page gives clear rules and examples for how to construct a good cover letter that will respond to the job advertisement and highlight the significant features of your CV.
Citation Styles & Using Sources
How not to Plagiarise! - University of Techology Sydney
If you are in any doubt about the tecnicalities of avoiding accusations of plagiarism, even unintentional, do this tutorial!
Writing Guide: Using Outside Sources - Colorado State University
A very extensive site that covers a wide range of questions from why to cite others to exactly how to punctuate a quotation within a quotation. Answers to all your questions!
Evaluating Sources - Bedford St. Martins
Useful help and suggestions on evaluating the validity and appropriateness of a source. Accessible and well organised.
Plagiarism: How to Recognize and Avoid It - Indiana University
Some basic examples of when paraphrase is or is not plagiarism. Also briefly addresses the question of 'common knowledge'.
Writing about the work of other authors - University of South Australia
Part of a larger page on academic writing. Extensive and detailed treatment of most key issues.
Documentation Styles - University of Wisconsin
Precise guidelines regarding all issues of citation and referencing. There is also specific guidance on how to write a bibliography according to Chicago/Turabian
Research and Documentation - Diana Hacker, Bedford St. Martins
A great resource for how to cite in different styles, including useful example papers. Covers APA (social sciences), Chicago/Turabian (history) and MLA (humanities) as well as CBE (hard sciences).
Online! - Bedford St. Martins Guide to Using Internet Sources
Particularly helpful when you need to cite electronic sources - guidelines include websites, electronic books and journals and even how to correctly cite an e-mail.
Formatting in Sociology - Purdue OWL
Few websites deal with ASA, the standard style for sociology, which is why we've included this one. It covers all the main points very effectively.
Research Writing in the Disciplines
The English Research Room - Bedford/St. Martin's
A wide range of research aids "intended to be useful for all students, instructors, and writers who engage in research and source-based writing". Lots of guidance on research skills, particularly on the use of online sources, including an extensive research links section. There are also links to specific research resources online for various disciplines, including history, economics, political science and sociology, as well as more language and writing oriented issues.
Research Papers - University of Kansas
An extensive step-by-step guide. Very useful.
Writers' Handbook: Research Papers - University of Wisconsin
A series of quick-check bullet points. Less comprehensive than the Kansas page, but quicker to read and easier to get an overview of what's needed.
Penning The Past: Advice on Writing in the Historical Disciplines
- By Alyssa E. Lodewick, Department of History, Brown University
Deals with the interrelated roles of narrative and argument. Very useful when balancing these two elements in your papers.
Writing the Sociology Paper - Dartmouth Writing Program
A useful page that combines writing concerns with those of the sociologist. Helpful reading in preparing your term paper.
Political Science - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Another overview page that nicely combines writing and discipline specific concerns. This university has a range of useful pages for various disciplines, and also good links on other writing issues. Check out the menu bar on the right hand side of the page.
Postgraduate Research in Law - University of Wollongong
An extensive and well structured page for guidance with legal studies research.
Open Book Exams
Study Guides - Open Book Exams
A general, non-subject-specific page with basic advice.
Open book test - how to prepare and study
Another basic guide, slightly more detailed.
How to succeed on open book law exams
As the title suggests, specific to Legal Studies and Law.
Oral Presentations
Designing Effective Oral Presentations - Rice University OWL
Extensive planning guidelines on goals, audience expectations, organization, visual aids, etc. A good general resource for academic and other presentations.
Giving Oral Presentations - University of Canberra
A clear, well organised overview of most of the important issues to consider when giving a presentation.
Specific Genres
Policy Briefs
Some professors, especially but not only in Public Policy ask students to write policy briefs. If you are given an assignment like this, try these links.
The Policy Brief - OSI/IPF
Prepared by policy writing experts and former CAW staff Eoin Young and Lisa Quinn. Clear pdf handout.
Policy Briefs - Richmond University
This page, prepared by two political scientists, is also very good, and contains links to several sample briefs.
Guidelines for Writing a Policy Brief - Prof. Tsai - Johns Hopkins University
Position Papers
This FAQ provides important information for CEU students, especially in International Relations and European Studies, who have to write this specific genre for their professors. Click here to download.
Report Writing
Report Writing FAQ - University of New South Wales
A very well organised, readable site on university report writing.
Report writing - Academic Skills Programme - Canberra University
A detailed page with full guidelines. Information clearly laid out in lists and tables.
Preparing and Writing your Thesis
Research Proposals
Have a look at a video taken at the CEU Open House 2010 at the Writing a compelling research proposal lecture
Thesis Proposals - University of New South Wales
A well-designed, very readable site that draws a distinction between MA and PhD research. Generally useful.
Thesis Proposal Guidelines - Dept of Anthropology, Hartwick College
Clear and simple - contains plenty of basic information which is applicable to subjects other than anthropology.
Dissertation Proposal Workshop - UC Berkeley
Specifically for PhD proposals, but provides useful and detailed information about getting your proposal accepted.
Outlines
How to write an Outline - University at Albany, New York
A basic set of guidelines and a sample outline for a thesis. Short and simple.
Developing an Outline - Purdue Online Writing Lab
A detailed page from the number one online writing lab. Covers most issues.
Annotated Bibliographies
How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography - Cornell University Library
A clear, concise introduction to preparing an annotated bibliography. An excellent place to start.
Writing Annotated Bibliographies - U. Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
A very detailed and extensive site, covering all sorts of aspects of writing an annotated bibliography. A wide range of options, approaches and possibilities. Complete with examples.
Annotated Bibliography - LEO, St. Cloud State University
Useful general basic guidelines. Not as extensive as the Wisconsin-Madison site, but more manageable in size. Also a little more prescriptive, which can be good if you are confused or annoying if you are more confident.
Literature Reviews
Writing a Literature Review - University of Toronto
These clear and succinct guidelines are the best overview we have found. Don't be put off by the fact that the page is for students of Health Sciences; the information is just as relevant for any subject. This site is now available by subscription only, but the Toronto HS Writing Center has given us temporary permission to include this pdf file on our page.
Writers' Handbook: Review of Literature - University of Wisconsin
Some useful basic guidelines which provide a quick overview to help you structure your review of the literature.
The Literature Review - Asian Institute of Technology
Very good basic guide to what a literature review involves. Includes tips about sources, examples of what not to do, and traps to avoid. Like everything on the Asian Institute pages, well designed, informative and interactive.
Writing the Literature Review - University of Queensland
More detailed than the University of Wisconsin page, complete with text extracts for exemplification and a frequently asked questions section at the end. Very useful.
Other Thesis Resources
The standard requirements for a master's thesis at CEU in the area of organisation, layout and writing. For information on departmental requirements and deadlines for submission you should consult your departmental coordinator.
How to Organize your Thesis - John Chinneck, Carleton University
A useful general overview - deals with the nature of research and offers a skeleton structure. As the author is a computer scientist, however, you may well want to adapt this.
Writing and Presenting Your Thesis or Dissertation - by Joseph Levine
Full details of how to approach writing a Ph.D. thesis, including tips for planning and for the defense as well as a link to a page dealing with funding proposals. A very useful document whether you stay at CEU for your Ph.D. or go elsewhere - an address to take with you! Includes loads of links to other sites.
Writing a thesis in the social sciences - University of York
Also more oriented towards PhD study, but contains a large amount of information on serious research writing. Some of it is specific to York University, but much of it is true wherever you are.
How to Write Your Thesis - The Earth Institute At Columbia University
Extensive details and guidance, especially for students of Environmental Science, but useful for any subject. Section II: Crosscutting Issues is particularly helpful.
Abstracts
Abstracts - John December and Susan Katz. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Good place to start: clear question and answer approach with useful guidelines.
The Abstract - Asian Institute of Technology
More detailed with 'common problems' section and examples to look at.
Language Resources
Concordancers
This collection compiled by the University of Leeds, provides you easy access to several corpora (collections of texts) including the British National Corpus, British newspapers and others. It is easy to use and does not require registration.
Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)
The largest publicly available corpus of English, available since 2008. It has a database of 400 million words including newspapers, fiction, spoken language and academic writing. You can also search surrounding words to see if a particular word is typically used together with other words (collocation). After using it a couple of times you will be prompted to register, however, registration is free.
Grammar and Punctuation
Guide to Grammar and Writing - Capital Community College Foundation
A very useful site for grammar problems connected with advanced writing, including punctuation, sequence of tenses, compound nouns and lots more. Also has a selection of links on paragraph level issues, and a link to a related site on essay writing.
Punctuation Made Simple - Gary A. Olson
Worried about whether you need a comma or a semicolon? This site has it all and, as the name suggests, it's clearly and simply explained. It doesn't deal with defining and non-defining clauses, but then you can't have everything.
Vocabulary
Provided by Manchester University, this resource contains lots of typical phrases you can use in different parts of your papers (without plagiarising). Of course, you can also adapt the phrases you find here to make them your own.
A collection of eight dictionaries and numerous word finding tools, including legal dictionary, computer dictionary, synonyms, related words, homophones and lots more.
Another wide-ranging collection of specialist dictionaries.
This rather interesting resource used to be free - now you can still have a free trial all the time under hard sell.
Publishing
Sternbergs famous article on ways to increase your chances of getting published.
The unofficial guide for authors - by Mike Gould
Principally focused on the hard sciences, but contains many useful tips and thoughts. (large pdf file).
Print Resources
The Writing Center's extensive collection of books on academic writing is available in the CEU library and searchable in the library catalogue with the keyword "CAW."
