Writing Center Resources

The Writing Center Website offers resources to help you in many ways, from helping you figure out how to write a paper, to quoting properly in your research papers, or understanding basic grammar and mechanics.

  • Writing a Paper

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    The Essential Guide for Writing a Paper offers information regarding a variety of writing concerns students commonly have.

    Within the links below you will find help on focus (thesis) statements, outlining, plagiarism, citing, writing concise sentences, the writing process and much, much more!

    Please view the links below for a full look at the many resources offered in the Writer's Guidebook.

    Getting Started  
    Parts of a Paper  
    Using Sources 
    Proofreading and Editing  

    Plagiarism

    A highly important aspect of academic writing involves avoiding plagiarism, the intentional or unintentional theft of another's intellectual ideas.  For detailed information on  paraphrasing/summarizing information that will help writers avoid issues of plagiarism, please visit: A Statement on Plagiarism

    In addition, whenever any information is borrowed from another source and properly paraphrased, the writer still needs to include an in-text citation and a reference page, indicating the origins of the information to the reader.   

  • Grammar Guide

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    Many students are concerned about the grammar aspect of writing. To help with this, the links below elaborate on multiple grammar components.

    http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/

    *Special thanks to the My Teen Zone Writing Club of Charlotte, Tennessee for suggesting this resource link.  

    In addition, students can download the following information, courtesy of Professor Susan Gaffney, that reviews the basic rules of grammar.  Please download the file using one of the following two links.  If your computer is running Microsoft WORD 2007 or a later edition, please use the first link.  If your computer is running Microsoft WORD 2003 or an earlier addition, please use the second link.

              Basic Rules of Grammar WORD 2007

              Basic Rules of Grammar WORD 2003

    The following is a document from P.A.C.E. that provides a breakdown of the appropriate verbs for educational learning objectives.  While this resource is valuable for students studying education, it is also useful for any academic work that requires more formal wording.

              Outcome Verbs 

  • ESL Resources

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    If you are an ESL student seeking assistance you can contact GSU's ESL/ELL Program Coordinator

    (708) 534-3143
    nhill3@govst.edu

    In addition, there are many resources for ESL students available on the web that can be used to enhance personal and professional writing. 

    The links below are some of the ESL resources available online. These links contain additional links within them to more ESL resources.

  • Oral and Multimedia Presentations

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    Many classes require oral and multimedia presentations. For help with creating them, please view the links below.

  • Technical, Scientific and Business Writing

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    For help with Technical, Scientific, and Business Writing, please view the links below.

    Technical

    Scientific

    Business

  • Scholarship and College Admissions Reources

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    For help with writing scholarship essays, thank you letters, personal statements, and formal letters, please view the links below.

    Scholarship Resources

    Personal Statement Essays

    Formal Letters

    The following link provides information on formal business correspondence. In this guide there is detailed information on how to address a variety of formal letter types.

    The writing occasion for a scholarship or admissions application may differ, but the basic concepts presented in the Job Search Guide compiled by the GSU Career Services office is essential to a good understanding of what formal correspondence should do.