SWC's Writing Center wiki is a database of grammar and composition websites maintained by our Writing Center tutors and coordinators. Visit the wiki and browse links to the most well-reviewed sites on the internet.

The Purdue OWL offers an excellent catalog of grammar, punctuation and spelling issues. Several aspects, such as sentence fragments and comma usage, include exercises with answer keys. All links open to new windows.

• Using commas
• Run-ons, comma splices and fused sentences
• Proofreading for commas
• Commas with nonessential elements
• Commas versus semicolons
• Commas after introductory clauses

• Apostrophes
• Quotation marks

• Fragments
• Independent and dependent clauses
• Parallel structure
• Dangling modifiers
• Subject-verb agreement

• Adjective or adverb?
• Adjectives with countable and uncountable nouns
• Countable and noncountable nouns
• Using pronouns clearly
• Pronoun case

• Active/Passive Verbs
• Irregular Verbs
• Sequence of Tenses
• Tense Consistency
• Verb Tenses
• Verbs with Helpers (Perfectives and Auxilliaries)
• Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives
• Voice and Mood

top

San Jose State University offers this site for Critical Thinking, Argumentation, and Logical Fallacies.

Purdue's Resources for Writers offers a wide-range of handouts, exercises and overviews covering the stages of writing, including the following. All links open to new windows.

• Planning/Starting to Write
  • Planning (Invention)
  • Planning (Invention): When you start to write
  • Planning (Invention): Thought Starters (Asking the Right Question)

• Effective Writing
  • Adding Emphasis
  • Argument/Persuasion: Logic in Argumentative Writing
  • Coherence
  • Conciseness: Methods of Eliminating Wordiness
  • Coping with Writing Anxiety
  • Developing an Outline
  • Sample Outline
  • Non-Sexist Language
  • Overcoming Writer’s Block
  • Paragraph
  • Paragraph (length consistency)
  • Sentence Variety
  • Strategies for Improving Sentence Clarity
  • Transitional Devices (Connecting Words)
  • Using Metaphors in Creative Writing
  • Writing A Thesis Statement
  • Writing with Computers

• Revising/Editing/Proofreading
  • Editing and Proofreading Strategies for Revision
  • Higher Order Concerns (HOCs) and Lower Order Concerns (LOCs)
  • Proofreading for Commas
  • Proofreading Strategies
  • Proofreading Your Paper
  • Steps in Editing Your Papers

top

Once again, our friends at Purdue provide us with a generous helping of ESL handouts. All links open to new windows.

• A vs. An
• Adjective or Adverb?
• Adjectives with Count and Non-Count Nouns
• Appositives
• Articles (A/An/The)
• Capitalization
• Count and Non-Count Nouns (with Plurals, Articles, and Quantity Words)
• Count and Non-Count Nouns (with Articles and Adjectives)
• English as a Second Language Self-Study Materials
• Numbers
• Phrasal Verbs (Idioms)
• Prepositions of Direction
• Prepositions of Location: At, In, On
• Prepositions of Spatial Relationship
• Prepositions of Time, Place, and to Introduce Objects
• Sentence Fragments
• Spelling: Sound-Alike Words
• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Verb Chart
• Verb Tenses
• Verbs: Irregular
• Verbs with Helpers (Perfectives and Auxilliaries)
• Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives
• Writing for American Academic Audiences

top

This time, our friends at Purdue provide us with research assistance. All links open to new windows.

• Research Skills and Resources
  • Productive Web Searches
  • Searching the World Wide Web
  • Evaluating Sources of Information
    • Getting started
    • Evaluating a Bibliographic Citation
    • Evaluating Content in the Source
    • Evaluating Internet Sources
    • Further Resources
  • Resources for Documenting Sources (in any format)
  • Documenting Electronic Sources (in any format)

top

Can't find your handbook? You're in luck then because the following links from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Writing Center at Rensselaer offer comprehensive overviews of the two main academic formats. Links open to new windows.

• MLA Format (UIUC): Common MLA citation
• MLA Style (Rensselaer): Includes quotation styles and citing internet sources
• APA Format (UIUC)
• APA Style (Rensselaer)

top

Writing Center | Student Resources | Online Tutoring | Workshop Calendar | Faculty Resources | Tutor Resources | ASC Home Page