Resources on Writing
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) – An excellent, succinct resource on questions of grammar and sentence structure (aka “mechanics”).
On Making Good Sentences – “Where Do Sentences Come From?” by NY Times writer Verlyn Klinkenborg.
“No One Writes Alone” – Video on peer review in the classroom from MIT Tech TV.
On Writing Scenes – A recent NY Times article by Lee Gutkind on why and how to use scenes in non-fiction writing.
What do we Mean by an Argument? – An excellent discussion of what we mean by terms such as argument, claim, evidence, and counterargument in essays such as our Essay 2 and 3—and most essays you will write in college. It is from the Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Thesis – A good explanation of what a thesis is and how it works in an essay. This site also contains links to additional sites on “thesis”.
Taylor Mali on speaking with conviction – Youtube clip
These two pieces about punctuation are especially useful because they’re from the point of view of writers (not teachers or grammarians):
“The Most Comma Mistakes” by Ben Yagoda.
“Semi-colons: A Love Story” by Ben Dolnic.
Resources for Research
Purdue OWL Resources for Writing Researched Papers – A very useful—and clearly organized—compendium of all kinds of help, from how to get started to why and how to write definitions of words, to MLA and APA style guides.
“Research and Documentation Online” – An excellent source for research. It includes lists of databases by subject area, as well as brief guides to styles such as MLA, APA, etc.
Fact Check.org – A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, mostly for what’s in the news, especially politics.
Snopes.com – Their mission is to check out “rumors” of all kinds, including folklore, urban legends and misinformation.
Frontline – The PBS documentary series has been running for over 30 years, and covers a variety of topics, from science & technology to current events. The site has its own search engine of documentaries by topic.
ProPublica – An independent, non-profit organization that investigates issues with “moral force.” It won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
