Online Resources
Research and Documentation Styles
The SJSU Library offers online tutorials in important topics related to research, plagiarism, and source citations.
- InfoPower Tutorials
- Plagiarism, Undergraduate Level
- Plagiarism, Graduate Level
- Library Basics
Different disciplines use different formatting styles. Familiarize yourself with the citation style guide that is used in your field of study.
- APA (American Psychological Association) Style
- ASA (American Sociological Association) Style
- MLA (Modern Language Association) Style
- Chicago Manual of Style
- IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Style
Online Writing Resources
The Everyday Writer, by Andrea Lunsford, was recently selected as the university writing handbook for San José State. We have used this handbook in the Writing Center for a number of years. Before or after your tutoring session, you can access a variety of online resources to accompany the handbook.
Most of the following links are provided by the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. The OWL is an excellent resource for writers and has many more pages of information than are linked here. We encourage you to visit the Online Writing Lab website and explore all the topics and exercises they offer.
English as a Second Language (ESL)
General Writing Concerns
- Annotated Bibliographies
- Argumentation/Persuasion: Logic in Argumentative Writing
- Coping with Writing Anxiety/Writer's Block
- Developing an Outline
- Editing and Proofreading Strategies
- Improving Sentence Clarity
- Paragraphs
- Prewriting (Invention)
- Sentence Variety
- Transitions
- Using Appropriate Language
- Writing a Thesis Statement
Grammar and Punctuation
- Active and Passive Voice
- Adjective or Adverb?
- Apostrophes
- Appositives
- Articles
- Capitalization
- Commas
- Commas vs. Semicolons
- Dangling Modifiers
- Gerunds
- Hyphens
- Independent and Dependent Clauses
- Numbers
- Parallel Structure
- Prepositions
- Pronouns
- Punctuation Overview
- Quotation Marks
- Run-ons - Comma Splices - Fused Sentences
- Sentence Fragments
- Subject/Verb Agreement
- Verb Tenses
Professional Writing
- Academic Cover Letters
- The Basic Business Letter
- Business Letters: Accentuating the Positives
- Cover Letters: Quick Tips - Preparing to Write - Writing Your Cover Letter
- Email Etiquette
- Letters Concerning Employment
- Management Resumes
- Reference Sheets
- Resumes: Introduction to Resumes - Resume Sections - When to Use Two Pages or More - Scannable Resumes
- Resume Design
- Skills Inventory
- Tailoring Employment Documents to a Specific Audience
- Terms & Tips for the International Student's Job Search
- Writing the Curriculum Vitae
- Writing the Personal Statement
Research and Documenting Sources
- Documenting Electronic Sources
- Resources for Documenting Sources
- Evaluating Sources of Information
- Paraphrasing
- Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
- Using Statistics
- Searching the World Wide Web
Many of the following resources are made available by permission of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center. We use these handouts in the SJSU Writing Center as references during tutoring sessions. The UNC Chapel Hill Writing Center website also has a wide variety of resources for your reference. Be sure to visit their website to see all the handouts and other references they have available.
Writing the Paper
- Argument
- Audience
- Brainstorming
- College Writing
- Conclusions
- Evaluating Print Sources
- Evidence
- Fallacies
- Getting Feedback
- Introductions
- Paragraph Development
- Plagiarism
- Procrastination
- Quotations: How to Use Them
- Reorganizing Drafts
- Reading To Write
- Revising Drafts
- Statistics
- Summary: Using It Wisely
- Thesis Statements
- Transitions
- Understanding Assignments
- Writing Anxiety
Grammar, Mechanics, and Style
- Articles
- Commas
- Conditionals
- Fragments & Run-ons
- Gender-Sensitive Language
- Modal Verbs
- One Thousand Useful Words
- Passive Voice
- Qualifiers
- Semicolons, Colons, and Dashes
- Should I Use "I"?
- Style
- Verb Tenses
- Word Choice