Writing resources

Need some help with your assignment, resume, or personal statement? You don't have to go at it alone. Here's a list of resources you can use during any part of the writing process.

On-Campus Writing Centers

• The Odegaard Writing and Research Center (OWRC) offers 45 minute appointments on any writing assignment ranging from an academic essay to personal statements.You can also schedule an appointment with a research librarian here!
• The Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment's Writing Center has writing tutors available from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on school nights! They can help with every stage of the writing process to brainstorming to polishing the final draft!
• Philosophy Writing Center: Many students do not realize that the requirements for a philosophy paper can be very different from the requirements for papers in other departments. Work with the undergraduate tutors at the Philosophy Writing Center and develop your ability to critically evaluate arguments in your readings, carefully formulate and argue for your own philosophical views, and defend your views against relevant objections.

Other Writing Programs

• Writing Courses & Writing Programs: The UW English program offers courses in everything from multimodal composition and creative writing to technical writing!
• Academic English Program (AEP):  The AEP has courses designed to support the success of multilingual students for whom English may not be a first or primary language.  Two AEP courses focus on reading and writing: ENGL 102 Essentials of College Reading & Writing and ENGL 103 Writing from Sources.  You can find course descriptions here.  Please note that there is an additional fee for all AEP courses.

Research 

• UW Library System: The UW Library system has a variety of online article and research databases as well as citation tools, e-journals, and ways to connect with research librarians.Undergraduate Research Tutorial: The UW Libraries Undergraduate Researcher Tutorial is a self-paced online tutorial that introduces undergraduate students to research skills and UW Libraries resources and services. The tutorial content was created based on needs identified by student researchers, faculty research mentors, and the Office of Undergraduate Research.
• Electronic Journals
• Resources by Subject: This is a list of recommended resources and research tips that can be filtered by subject or by collection.
• Citation Guide: This has the style guides for MLA and APA as well as other tools for storing and organizing your sources.
• Q&A Live—Talk to a Librarian: Can't find what you're looking for? Talk to a librarian in a live chat, via email, or in-person. You can meet subject librarians.
• Seattle Public Library System: This is an excellent resource for a wide variety of books and multimedia resources
• Google Scholar: From here, you can search across many disciplines and sources, and then locate the complete document through the UW library system or on the web.

For ELL Students

• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL): This site has an extensive set of hand-outs and exercises on basic issues that frequently plague writers whose native language is not English.
• Online English Grammar: This site offers a complete grammar handbook that you can use as a reference.
• Study Guides and Strategies: A good reference

On Your Own: Writing Resources

• Tips for Writing Analytical Papers
• Information on Academic Honesty/Plagiarism
• How to organize and structure an academic paper and revising your first draft (Dartmouth Writing Center)
• Revising the Draft (Harvard)
• Strategies for Essay Writing: These concise explanations provide advice on some fundamental elements of academic writing (Harvard)

Citation Resources

• Check with your professor about what citation style you’re expected to use. Common styles include MLA (humanities, APA, Chicago, and IEEE). Conventions for each of these disciplines can be found on Purdue Owl.
• Read about citing sources on our academic writing page.