The Writing Center @cabriniuwritingcenter - Tumblr Blog

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englishpracticenow

Bad grammar happen to good people.

lawjournalsandwine-blog

Reading + Planning

Detailed Essay Planning Guide

Visual Planning Ideas

Mind Map Online / Mind Map Templates

Researching Effectively

Effective Academic Reading

How To Do A Close Reading

Using Online Resources

Essay Structure

Outlining An Essay

Skeleton Essay Example

Writing

Writing A Great Introduction

Writing Comparative Analysis

Writing a Persuasive Essay

Strong Body Paragraphs

Using Quotations

Writing a Great Conclusion

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Referencing

What To Reference

Harvard Referencing Guide

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

APA Referencing Guide

Chicago Referencing Guide

MLA Referencing Guide

Citation Generator (for APA, Chicago and MLA style)

Citation Generator (for Harvard Style)

Citation Generator (for OSCOLA style)

Editing

Effective Proof-reading

Plagiarism Checker

Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism

Accurate Spelling and Grammar Checker

Misc.

Block Distracting Sites (for Mac) (for Windows) (for Chrome)

Conquering Writing Anxiety

WrittenKitten

Avoiding Distractions + Staying Motivated

Effective Study Environments

Home vs Library

StudyFocus App

This masterpost is here to assist you with your next essay/coursework! As always, I am more than happy to proof-read the work of my followers (and happy to answer any questions), so do drop me a message if you feel so inclined! I will be posting something this week about finding the perfect study spot, so watch this space ✌

theyuniversity

What's up with "into," "in to," "onto," "on to," and "unto"?

theyuniversity

Let’s begin with “in to” vs. “into”:

Before this adorable little pig turns into bacon, let’s enjoy this cute GIF.

Here is the difference between “onto” and “on to”:

“On to” is similar to “in to”: “on” is an adverb and “to” is a preposition. It often appears in idiomatic and casual expressions:

Lastly, “unto” is an old, now rarely used, preposition that can basically be replaced by “to” or “until.”

One of the most famous sentences that uses unto is what is commonly known as the Golden Rule:

The Golden Rule uses “unto” in place of “to.”

Here is an example of “unto” in lieu of “until”:

“Unto death” (until death) is one of the most common phrases in which “unto” is used.

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theyuniversity

Here is one of our favorite examples of “into”:

submarinx

Semester Mid-Point

The semester is now at the point where spring and Easter break are on the horizon. Summer is so close - we can almost taste it. Our teachers have begun to realize the impending end of the semester, so they bombard us with increasing amounts of work. As a procrastinating Cabrini student who has experienced this “mid-point drag” for the past three years, my advice is to take a breath and work through this at a slow and steady pace. Here are some basic tips to help move you forward and make the most of this challenging time:

1. Carve time out of your breaks between classes to get some work done. Utilizing this time when you have no classes or immediate stressors can be very beneficial. Allot a certain amount of time each day to tackle a small bit of homework. By doing this, it relieves some of the stress you may face coming back to classes.

2. Also make time for yourself. It is important that you allow yourself to sit back and just relax with your family and friends. Spending time decompressing helps you refresh and be better prepared to return to the demands of your on campus life.

3. Set goals for yourself. Plan a trip, give yourself a reward, or find a flow of positive reinforcement to help motivate you to achieve your goals. When I begin to feel stressed, it helps me to plan a trip that I want to take (whether that be a trip to the movies or a vacation with your family/friends) now or over the summer. Giving yourself a goal allows you to look forward to something positive when working through some of your assignments.

4. Take everything one day at a time, whether it be the beginning, middle, or end of the semester. Don’t stress yourself out by worrying about everything at once. You are only one person and you cannot possibly do everything you need to do in one sitting. I mean, there are only 24 hours in a day, right?

5. Take time to care for your mental and physical being. Don’t forget that YOU are the most important part of this whole equation. If you can’t take care of yourself, there is no way you will be able to do what you need to do. It will slowly become a vicious cycle of playing catch up and that is too much for any one person to handle.

This time of the semester is one of the roughest of any college student’s career. Whether you use these tips or not, remember one thing: everything will be done one way or another so don’t freak out because you will get through this. I hope these tips helped you and until we meet again—hang in there!!

Lexi

#writing #midterms #study motivation #writing motivation

Warming Up Your Writing

By: Michael A. Costanzo

Now that the spring semester is a few weeks in and snow is melting, many of you are probably staring down that first big paper (or getting ready for a second one if you have a particularly tough class). But since it’s been so cold, some of you might want to warm up your writing with a few pointers. One of the best ways to de-thaw from winter break is to refocus on what your professors want from your writing. Here is a handy list of some of the big picture aspects your professors will be looking for while reading your assignments.

The Professor’s (Simplified) Checklist

• Answered the Prompt? – This is the most important rule. It doesn’t matter how brilliant your arguments are if you didn’t answer the professor’s questions. Make sure to address each part of the prompt you’re given. If you’re unsure about it, ask the professor or have someone else look over your paper.

• What’s Going On? – This is a question you don’t ever want your professor asking. Make sure the subject and the purpose of your paper is crystal clear to the reader. Having a strong, arguable thesis is part of the solution. To find your thesis, try asking yourself this question, “If there is only one thing that I want my readers to know by the end of the paper, what would it be?” After you find your central argument or point, make sure you continue to prove, expand, or circle back to that key idea throughout your paper.

• Can I Read It? – Professors have so many papers to read, so you want yours to stick out. However, make sure it’s sticking out for the right reasons. Proofread, proofread, proofread – you don’t want the person grading your paper tripping over simple mistakes or jumbled sentences. Make it easy for them so they take it easy on you.

• So What? – This is a “big” question that is sometimes overlooked. At the end of the day, your words have to say something. Your professors usually don’t want a rehashing of what they said in class. They want you to take those ideas and make them your own, say something original with them, and give them purpose. Analyze the material and don’t just restate or summarize it. Words without purpose are just fancy symbols lined up in a row.

The requirements of the assignment are key, but it’s still important to keep in mind these “big picture” aspects because they will continue to improve your writing, whether it is part of your academic career or beyond.

#writing #Writing tips #academic writing #writing motivation

writerswritecompany

cabriniuwritingcenter

#WritingTips #Grammar

positivedoodles

cabriniuwritingcenter

Just remember, you can do it and we are here to help!

#NewSemester #WritingCenter #Determination #Motivation

Winding Up or Down?

By Sarah D

It’s official: the semester is ending. The changing temperature and decreasing daylight has hinted at it for a while now, and our relentless workloads can no longer deny the nearing end. Professors and students alike are excited to relax with family and friends after a productive semester. By now, everything points towards winding down. Or does it?

There may only be a few remaining weeks, but for many students and teachers that means it’s crunch time. We’ve done the experiments, the research, the readings, and everything that’s strategically set us up for that final paper, project, or report. These final weeks are always the busiest in the Writing Center, with maxed-out schedules and waiting lists. Just when it seemed it was time to wind down, in reality we are just winding up.

Luckily, while we are at the peak of our tutoring season, at this point we are also well equipped and ready for anything. We have been building our mental muscles up for this very moment. Now more than ever students are feeling the stress of the semester, so it is crucial that we tutors step up on our end. We feel the stress too, but we should only draw on that as a source of empathy and encouragement to work ever more diligently to help our peers. We have kept pace during this race, and now that the finish line is in sight it is time to breathe deeply, focus, and charge forward. No amount of pressure we feel now can even compare to the victory that will come once we cross the finish.

#Cabrini College #Writing Center #end of the semester #tutors

bookinspector

When you’re book tries to prevent you from reading it.

psliterary-deactivated20190419

theyuniversity

Five Quick Writing Tips to Get You Through Any Paper

You have just moved away to college and you’re feeling independent and confident, until you walk into your first class and you’re assigned a major paper. You think, “How can I do this? I have never written a paper this long before!!!” You begin to freak yourself out, but you feel odd asking anyone to help. This is a typical of all college students (especially with underclassmen), but fear-not! I am here to give you all the best tips to help you succeed in writing a college paper! It may seem overwhelming at first, but I’m telling you-- it’s manageable!!

1.First and foremost-- DON’T FREAK OUT!! I know this may seem hard at first, but, before you sit down to write your paper, take a deep breath. Writing is not as complicated as people make it out to be.

2. Once you have calmed yourself down from the mini panic attack you just have had-- sit yourself down and begin drafting. When I say “draft” I don’t mean the kind of drafting that most high school teachers make you do where they make you write out every single step of the writing process. In college, it is up to you to decide and figure out what works well for you. Your draft is exactly that--IT’S YOUR DRAFT, write it any way you want. Start thinking about a thesis (the what+the why of your paper), and some major points or arguments that will eventually start shaping your paper!

3. After you have formed the major points and arguments that you want to talk about in your paper, begin researching. This includes looking for books, articles, web pages, video clips etcetera to help reinforce your ideas. Your research should support your thesis, but it doesn’t have to be over the top (you aren’t trying to find the answers to life’s mysteries here). The way I look at it, you should have at least three or four strong sources that support your paper. Once you have found your sources, begin looking through them and pulling facts to support each of your main ideas.

4. As you can see, your draft is starting to fill out. THE HARDEST PART IS OVER!!! You still have some work to do, but once your draft or working outline is complete, it’s so much easier to sit down and actually work through the paper! Start going through each section of your paper and begin turning that draft into paragraphs. You’ll soon begin to see that this process is so much easier because you have the information right in front of you!

5. Once you have completed putting your information into a paper format, give yourself time to go back and edit your paper. One of my biggest flaws in the beginning of college was that I would submit my papers without going through and editing them-- which is foolish because I would get points deducted for simple spelling and grammar mistakes. Once you feel as though you have edited your paper the best you can, remember to look at your professor’s rubric for the paper to make sure you included everything he/she is asking for!

There you go! I hope that these five quick tips relieved some of your stress and anxiety about writing college papers! I survived and I know you can too!