Online Resources

The following links are provided by the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University.

Most Popular Resources

• MLA Formatting and Style Guide
• APA Formatting and Style Guide
• Creating a Thesis Statement
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Writing the Basic Business Letter
• Developing an Outline
• English as a Second Language
• Workplace & Professional Writers
  

English as a Second Language (ESL)

• ESL Resources and Handouts for Students and Teachers (Main Index)
• Adjective or Adverb?
• Adjectives with Countable and Uncountable Nouns
• Articles: A or An?
• The Use and Non-Use of Articles
• Basic Tips for ESL Students: Writing for an American Audience
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns (with Plurals, Articles and Quantity Words)
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns (with Articles and Adjectives)
• ESL Self-Study Materials
• ESL Resources for Students
• ESL Resources for Teachers
• Irregular Verbs
• Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
• Prepositions of Direction
• Prepositions of Location: At, In, On
• Prepositions of Spatial Relationships
• Prepositions of Time, of Place, and to Introduce Objects
• Two-Part Phrasal Verbs (Idioms)
• Verbs with Helpers
• Verb Tense Chart
• Writing Numbers

Interactive ESL Exercises

• Adjective or Adverb: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2
• Articles: A or An?: Exercise #1
• Articles: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2
• Countable and Uncountable Nouns: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2
• Making Subjects and Verbs Agree: Exercise #1
• Prepositions of Direction: Exercise #1
• Prepositions of Location: Exercise #1
• Writing Numbers: Exercise #1

General Writing Concerns

• Adding Emphasis in Writing
• Annotated Bibliographies
• Argumentation/Persuasion: Logic in Argumentative Writing
• Coherence
• Conciseness: Methods of Eliminating Wordiness
• Coping with Writing Anxiety
• Developing an Outline
• Editing and Proofreading Strategies
• Higher Order Concerns (HOCs) and Lower Order Concerns (LOCs)
• Image in Poetry
• Improving Sentence Clarity
• Non-Sexist Language
• Overcoming Writer's Block
• Paragraphs
• Pattern and Variation in Poetry
• Planning (Invention)
• Sentence Variety
• Sound and Meter in Poetry
• Starting to Write
• Transitional Devices
• Using Metaphors in Creative Writing
• Writing a Thesis Statement
• Writing with Computers
• Writing Definitions
• Writing Descriptions
• Writing Essay Exams
• Writing About Fiction
• Writing About Literature
• Writing About Poetry

Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling

• Active Tenses
• Active and Passive Verbs
• Apostrophes
• Appositives
• Commas After Introductions
• Commas vs. Semicolons
• Commas with Non-Essential Elements
• Proofreading for Commas
• Using Commas
• Dangling Modifiers
• Independent and Dependent Clauses
• A Little Help with Capitals
• Overview of Punctuation
• Parallel Structures
• Passive Tenses
• Pronoun Case
• Using Pronouns Clearly
• Quotation Marks
• Run-ons - Comma Splices - Fused Sentences
• Sequence of Tenses
• Sentence Fragments
• Sentence Punctuation Patterns
• Spelling: Accept/Except and Affect/Effect
• Spelling: Common Words That Sound Alike
• Spelling: Suffixes -ible and -able
• Spelling: IE/EI
• Spelling: Noun Plurals
• Using Hyphens
• Verb Tenses
• Verb Tense Consistency
• Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives
• Verbs: Voice and Mood

Interactive Grammar Exercises

• Apostrophes: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2
• Commas After Introductions: Exercise #1
• Commas vs. Semicolons: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2
• Commas with Non-Essential Elements: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2 - Exercise #3
• Using Commas: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2 - Exercise #3 - Exercise #4 - Exercise #5
• Overview of Punctuation: Exercise #1
• Quotation Marks: Exercise #1
• Sentence Fragments: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2 - Exercise #3
• Spelling - Accept/Except: Exercise #1
• Spelling - Affect/Effect: Exercise #1
• Spelling - Common Words That Sound Alike: Exercise #1
• Spelling - Suffixes -ible and -able: Exercise #1
• Spelling - IE/EI: Exercise #1 - Exercise #2 - Exercise #3 - Exercise #4
• Verb Tense Consistency: Exercise #1

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
• Higher Order and Later Order Concerns in Business Writing
• Letters Concerning Employment: Index Includes models and information on many common types of employment letters, ranging from interview follow-ups to job offer acceptance letters.
• Management Resumes
• Memo Writing
• Parallel Structure in Professional Writing
• Reference Sheets
• Resumes: Introduction to Resumes - Resume Sections - When to Use Two Pages or More - Scannable Resumes
• Resume Design
• Revision in Business Writing
• Sales Letters: Four Point Action Closing
• Skills Inventory
• Tailoring Employment Documents to a Specific Audience
• Terms & Tips for the International Student's Job Search
• Tone in Business Writing
• Writing for a North American Business Audience
• Writing the Curriculum Vitae
• Writing the Personal Statement
• Writing Report Abstracts

Research and Documenting Sources

• Using APA Format
• Conducting a Productive Web Search
• Documenting Electronic Sources
• Formatting in Sociology (ASA Style)
• Resources for Documenting Sources
• Evaluating Sources of Information
• Evaluating a Bibliographic Citation
• Evaluating Content in the Source
• Evaluating Internet Sources
• MLA Formatting and Style Guide
• Paraphrasing
• Plagiarism
• Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
• Research Papers: A Step-by-Step Procedure
• Using Statistics
• Searching the World Wide Web

• Online Resources
• Handouts
• Video Tutorials
• Documentation Styles
• back

SJSU Writing Center
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San José, CA 95192-0172
408.924.2308
Located in Clark Hall, Suite 126

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One Washington Square - San José, California USA, 95192 - 408.924.1000