Writing Center
Welcome to the Writing Center at Upper Iowa University, located on the main floor of the Liberal Arts Building on the Fayette Campus. This web page was designed to offer you extra support for your writing needs when you are unable to drop in at the Writing Center for writing support face to face. A variety of resources are available to you here, including scheduling options for writing consultations and advice on preparing for one if you are on campus, as well as links to useful resources that can help you in the process of writing papers and essays for your courses. Click on one of the links below to find information that is relevant to your needs, and enjoy our writing support resources!
Caroline Ledeboer, Writing Center Director, ext. 5854, Ledeboerc@uiu.edu
If you are on campus, feel free to stop in and see a writing consultant (writingcenter@uiu.edu) during regular hours in the Writing Center.
Table of Contents
- Make an Appointment
- How to Prepare for an Appointment
- Quick Writing Question
- One-Time Seminars
- Useful Web Sites for Writers
- General Writing Tips
Schedule a half-hour appointment with a writing consultant by dropping in during Writing Center hours, signing up for a slot in the appointment book, calling (563)425-5854 , or sending us the following information in an email (writingcenter@uiu.edu):
Student Name:
Course Name and Instructor:
Time Slot requested (example: Mon 9:00 a.m.):
Brief description of paper topic:
(attach draft, if available)
A confirmation of your appointment time will be sent to you.
How to Prepare for an Appointment
Writing consultants are available to help students at any stage of the writing process. A student may wish to come in to brainstorm a writing topic, outline a paper, or receive feedback on a first (or subsequent) draft. He or she may also want to discuss the parts of the writing process or the appropriate use of revision or editing strategies. Please remember to bring along the assignment sheet and rubric, if applicable, and come with the understanding that consultants only help students express their ideas but cannot write their papers for them. Tutors can be invaluable sources of information but students are ultimately responsible for the ideas they put down.
If you have a quick writing question to which you have been unable to find an answer in our web page, please send us an email (writingquestion@uiu.edu) with the following information:
Student Name:
Course Name and Instructor:
Writing-related Question:
Writing support services at UIU also include one-time seminars on working with sources or preparing for the C-BASE test required of Education majors. Check our blog for upcoming events and writing tips.
Below are some links that may be helpful to you in your writing. Don't forget that the library page on this site also provides useful resources for students doing research for a paper, and includes a link to a citation wizard. Just click on the library link in the menu on the home page to find these resources.
- What does your assignment ask you to do?
- Thesis statement--why bother?
- Gather support (or supporting details)
- Refine your focus (and thesis statement)
- Planning your paper
- Summarize your sources
- Decide on a good beginning
- What is a well-structured paragraph?
- Transition between supporting ideas
- Write a conclusion that follows from your evidence
- Read your draft and plan revisions (make notes)
- Does it sound right? Check your language choices
- Common grammatical mistakes
- Proofread and share your work
- Notes on using sources wisely (and citing them correctly)
What does your assignment ask you to do?
- Understanding Assignments (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
- An essay or a research paper? (From the University of Kansas Writing Center, and the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University)
- Hows and Whys of Thesis Statements (From the University of Montana Writing Center web site)
- Creating a Thesis Statement (From the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University; click here for a menu of handouts)
- Developing a Thesis Statement (From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center web site; click here for a menu of handouts)
Gather support (or supporting details)
- Critically Analyzing Information Sources (From the Cornell University Library web site)
- Evidence (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
Refine your focus (and thesis statement)
- Refining and Polishing a Draft Thesis Statement (From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center web site; click here for a menu of handouts)
- Planning and Writing a Research Paper (From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center web site; click here for a menu of handouts)
- How to Read a Primary Source (From the Bowdoin College Writing Guides; click here for a menu of handouts)
- Analysis or summary? (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
- Introductory Paragraphs (From the Capital Community College Foundation's Guide to Grammar and Writing; click here for the index to the guide)
What is a well-structured paragraph?
- Paragraphs & Paragraphing (From the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University; click here for a menu of handouts)
- Paragraph Development & Topic Sentences (From the Capital Community College Foundation's Guide to Grammar and Writing; click here for an index to the guide)
Transition between supporting ideas
- Function of transitions (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
- Transition Words and Phrases (From the Hunter College Reading/Writing Center; click here for a menu of handouts)
Write a conclusion that follows from your evidence
- Conclusions (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
Read your draft and plan revisions (make notes)
- Reorganizing your Draft (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
Does it sound right? Check your language choices
- Clear, Concise and Direct Sentences (From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center web site; click here for a menu of handouts)
- Abstract, Concrete, General Language (From the Capital Community College Foundation's Guide to Grammar and Writing; click here for an index to the guide)
- Using Unbiased Language (From the Capital Community College Foundation's Guide to Grammar and Writing; click here for an index to the guide)
- Plain Language--before-after examples (From PlainLanguage.gov; click here for an index to the site)
- Twelve Common Errors: An Editing Checklist (From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center web site; click here for a menu of handouts)
- Getting Feedback (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Writing Center web site; click here for a list of handouts)
Notes on using sources wisely (and citing them correctly)
Using sources
- Writing with Sources--(From the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University, with an emphasis on evaluating internet sources)
- Oral History--oral history sources (From the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, with an emphasis on using interviews/first-person accounts)
Citation
- In-text APA: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPACitations.html
- APA general: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPA.html
- MLA general: http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocMLA.html
- (From the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center web site; click here for more citation resources)
- CSE general: http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/csegd.php (From the Ohio State University Libraries)
- A description of a variety of citation styles, including Chicago Style and styles common in writing for the sciences (From the Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation: http://www.ericae.net/academic-necessities-citation-styles.html)
