Resources for Writers

Bucknell Writing Center FAQ
Find out what happens in a Writing Center appointment and how professional or peer writing consultants can help you at any stage of your writing process. 

Selected Online Resources:

Writing Process

• Writer's Web  (University of Richmond)
  Organized by "stages of the writing process" and by topic
• Purdue OWL (Purdue University Online Writing Lab)
  Help with the entire writing process, from brainstorming to citations 
• Thesis Statements (University of North Carolina Writing Center Web)
  How to develop your ideas from topic to working thesis to thesis statement
• Argument (University of North Carolina Writing Center Web)
  A complete guide to college writing that makes an argument
• Rhetorical Strategies: Comparison and Contrast (Hunter College Reading and Writing Center, CUNY)
  What's your point? This handout will help you focus your comparison/contrast essay.
• Proofreading Your Own Writing (Purdue OWL)
  Think you can't? You CAN! Try these tips.
• Managing Your Time (Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center)
  All writers face time constraints; here's help.

Research Writing and Citing Sources

• Academic Responsibility at Bucknell
  Protect yourself: Know the rules and expectations of your academic community.
• Avoiding Plagiarism (Purdue OWL) 
  A complete, step-by-step guide to safe research writing 
• Online Plagiarism Tutorial (University of Southern Mississippi) 
  To cite, or not to cite? Am I paraphrasing correctly?  Clear answers in an interactive format. 

Professional Writing

• Professional Writing (Purdue OWL) 
  Scroll down the navigation bar to discover a treasure trove of advice on topics, from email etiquette to resumes, cover letters, writing for international business audiences, grad school personal statements, and more. 

Grammar and Usage 

• Twenty Most Common Errors: An Interactive Guide (Andrea Lunsford, Bedford/St. Martin's Press) 
• Grammar and ESL Exercises (Purdue OWL)
  Practice recognizing and correcting common errors, for native and non-native speakers of English 
• Guide to Grammar and Writing (Capitol Community College Foundation, Hartford, CT)
  Offers help at the "Word and Sentence Level," "Paragraph Level," and "Essay & Research Paper Level," as well as interactive grammar quizzes

Online Resources Recommended by Writing Program Faculty

• Presentation Tips for Public Speaking (I. Lee, Toastmasters International)
  A summary of the best advice for public speakers, accompanied by links to other good sites on the same topic. Recommended by Richard Weida, Mathematics.
• Elements of Style (Strunk, 1918).
  "Quaint, but still solid gold." - Duane Griffin, Geography
• "A Guide to Writing Mathematics" by Dr. Kevin Lee, and additional information for math majors (including information about writing), both from the web site of Prof. Mark Tomforde at the University of Houston. Recommended by Peter McNamara, Mathematics