College Writing
Making an Argument (from University of Notre Dame)
Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (Indiana University)
5 Ways of Looking at a Thesis by Erik Simpson
Constructing a thesis (Dartmouth University Written by Karen Gocsik )
Thesis Generator
What is a Thesis? (This has some helpful questions)
Most Commonly Occurring Grammatical Errors in Students’ Papers
Lynch’s Guide to Grammar and Style (searchable)
Getting an ‘A’ on an English Paper, by Jack Lynch
Argument: C.R.O.W. (The Writing Center at Clarion University of California)
The Arguable Thesis (David Holper, College of the Redwoods English Dept.)
Fallacies (Copyright 1995 Michael C. Labossiere)
Online Writing Assistant
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Online English Grammar Guide
Dave’s ESL Cafe
Quoting Passages Using MLA Style
Interactive Quizzes
Why Should I Take This Author Seriously? (Evaluating your sources)
Developing a Thesis (Harvard)
How to Write a Thesis Statement (Indiana University)
How to Use Evidence (Indiana University)
MLA Guidelines
A fun link about the history of English
Building Arguments
Formulating a controversial definition
Challenge a Definition
Determine whether something fits an existing definition
Ways to organize an argument that includes consideration of opposing positions
Argument by Definition
Constructing a Logical Argument
Definition Essay (Step-by-Step)
Remember to include in your writing:
- consideration of at least one alternative view
- effective incorporation of your required sources
- specific examples
- details
- dialogue from interviews if applicable
When developing your argument, ask yourself:
- What information is most important to this argument?
- What might be left out?
- What do I think about this subject? Do I care? (If you don’t, why should your reader?)
- How did I come to that conclusion?
- How can I support my opinion with quotes from the text?
- FOR EVERY CLASS
- bring your journal
- follow the syllabus for the readings.
- know the assigned vocabulary words
Here is a link to The Lovely Bones book review. (Not the same as a response paper. I’ve formatted it for the blog, and my style of writing is informal. )
Remember to:
- Take a stand
- know your subject
- make an arguable point
- provide proof
- decide what your main points are
- demonstrate that you understand there are opposing opinions–include them and refute them
- define terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader
Don’t get stuck in the 5 paragraph format you learned in high school. This is useful as a guide, but focusing on that structure will box your brain in. And yes, I know I repeated myself on a couple of points. 