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“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.”
– Martin Luther
1. Choose a topic. (Bold Titles:)
2. Choose a source. ~ Example Source Title
3. Click on the title of the source. It is a link to the original website.
Worksheets and Activities:
~ Handwriting Worksheets (cursive and print)
~ Writing Worksheets (basic writing, reading + writing, grammar + writing)
~ Sentence Structure Exercises (multiple choice activities)
~ Cambridge English Write & Improve (write and receive computer feedback)
~ Open Diary (write a public online diary)
~ Identifying a Topic Sentence (quiz)
“You can fix anything but a blank page.”
— Nora Roberts
Sentence Combining / Making Longer Sentences:
~ What is Sentence Combining?
~ Sentence Combining: Lesson with Examples
~ Your Dictionary – Sentence Combining Exercises*
~ Free Language Stuff – Worksheets*
~ Keys to Literacy – (PDF) Sentence Combining Lesson and Worksheet*
~ Sentence Structure Exercises (14-20)
~ Online Exercises: Connectives
*Contact the LLSR if you want to check your answers.
“The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.”
— E.B. White
Punctuation and Mechanics (from The Blue Book of Grammar):
~ Common Punctuation Rules
~ Capitalization Rules
~ Advanced Style Rules for Numbers
“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.”
— Margaret Atwood
Writing Strategies:
~ Hiroshima University’s English Writing Help Center
~ Tips-o-Matic (short and simple explanations for sentences, paragraphs, and essays)
~ Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
~ University of Richmond Writing Center
~ University of Toronto Writing Advice
~ University of Victoria Writer’s Guide
~ Purdue Online Writing Lab
~ Guide to Grammar (writing advice for university-level composition)
~ Helping Students Summarize and Respond to Texts
~ The power of a great introduction
~ Capturing authentic narratives
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”
— Terry Pratchett
Academic Writing:
Note: The classification of essay genres can be inconsistent among sources, but these sources will provide a general idea of each type of academic essay.
~ Argument Essays (advice, ideas, and strategies)
~ Comparison and Contrast Essays (advice, ideas, and strategies)
~ Classification Essays (define and describe subcategories for a category OR rank members of a category)
~ Descriptive Essays (describe a person, place, experience, or process)
~ Expository/Process Essays (describe a process or system)
~ *Informal Essays (*not an academic genre; rarely assigned in writing classes)
~ Literary Analysis Essays (interpret literature)
~ Narrative Essays (personal or creative stories)
~ Persuasive Essays (examples: newspaper opinion articles, political campaigning, lots of “must, should, ought to”)
~ Problem-Solution Essays
~ Review Essays (examples: book reviews, movie reviews, theatrical play reviews)
~ Research Essays (incorporate and cite sources to support the work)
~ Genres: Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, or Argumentative?
Writing in Other Genres
Creative Writing:
~ Story Starters (use a computer-generated sentence to start your creative story)
~ PIZAZZ Creative Writing lessons
TED Ed Talks about Creative Writing:
~ The power of simple words
~ How to build a fictional world
~ How to write descriptively
~ First person vs. second person vs. third person
~ How to make your writing funnier
~ How to make your writing suspenseful
~ In on a secret? That’s dramatic irony.
See more at The Writer’s Workshop playlist
“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.”
— Jane Yolen
Business Writing:
~ Example Cover Letters (for U.S. job applications)
~ Cover Letter Advice (for U.S. job applications)
~ Cover Letter instructions (for Japan job applications in English)
~ How to Write a Cover Letter (National Career Service, U.K.)
~ Cover Letters (advice for U.K. job applications)
~ Cover Letter: Your Complete Guide (advice and samples for U.K. job applications)
~ CV Sections (National Careers Service, U.K.)
~ How to Write a CV (U.K.)
~ How to Write a Resume (Australia)
~ How to Write a Resume infographic with links (Australia)
~ U.S. Resumes
~ USA CV (The website says “resume”, but describes an American CV)
“Texting is fingered speech. Now we can write the way we talk.”
— John McWhorter
**Special Request: SMS Language/Slang:
~ The Complete List of 1500+ Common Text Abbreviations & Acronyms
~ Texting Slang
“Write what should not be forgotten.”
— Isabel Allende