Writing+Resources


 * WRITING GUIDE**

This //Guide to Grammar and Writing// was compiled by the late Dr. Charles Darling.

Guide to Grammar and Writing http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

The Guide is sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation in Hartford, Connecticut.

I am personally grateful to all that I have learned from this guide and hope that my students will profit richly from its contents.

THE WRITING PROCESS

Overcoming writer's block http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_block.htm

Getting started: freewriting http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_freewrite.htm

Getting started: clustering (same as mind-mapping) http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_clustering.htm

Getting started: outlining http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/brainstorm_outline.htm

The editing and rewriting process http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/editing.htm

Paragraph development and topic sentences http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/paragraphs.htm

Coherence: Transitions between ideas http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/transitions.htm

Writing Concise Sentences http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/concise.htm

Interactive Quiz: Writing Concise Sentences http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/wordy_quiz.htm

Interactive Quiz: Eliminating Wordiness http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/nova/nova8.htm

Interactive Quiz: Rewriting Bloated Sentences http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/nova/nova11.htm

Plague Words and Phrases http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/plague.htm

Sentence Combining

1. Sentence-combining skills http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/combining_skills.htm

Interactive Quiz on Combining Sentences http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/combining_quiz2.htm

Another Interactive Quiz on Combining Sentences http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/combining_quiz1.htm

2. Avoiding Primer Language http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/primer.htm

Interactive Quiz: Avoiding Primer Style http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/primer_quiz.htm

3. Sentence Variety and Modifier Placement [modifier placement at bottom of screen] http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sentences.htm

Interactive Quiz: Varying Sentence Beginnings http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/nova/nova9.htm

Interactive Quiz: Sentence Variety and Modifier Placement http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/nova/nova10.htm

Parallel Form http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/parallelism.htm

Biblical examples of parallelism http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/bible.htm

Interactive Quiz: Parallel Structure http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/parallelism_quiz.htm

Another Interactive Quiz on Parallel Structure http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/parallelism2_quiz.htm

A Further Interactive Quiz on Parallel Structure http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/niu/niu10.htm

Harvard Guide to Integrating Sources

Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting []

The Nuts and Bolts of Integrating Sources []

Principles of Organization http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/organization.htm

Introductory Paragraphs http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/intros.htm

Concluding Paragraphs http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/endings.htm

Rules for Comma Usage http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm

Using Numbers http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/numbers.htm

Quotation Marks http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm

Miscellaneous issues

Uses of shall and will and should http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/auxiliary.htm#shall

Conjunctions http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/conjunctions.htm

Building a better vocabulary http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/vocabulary.htm

Who versus whom http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns.htm#who

Blend into my overall outline:

The #1 Secret of Great Writers [this is good] http://writetodone.com/2012/07/23/the-1-secret-of-great-writers/

"Eight Simple Tips for Editing Your Own Work" http://writetodone.com/2012/02/09/eight-simple-tips-for-editing-your-own-work/

Writing Rules! Advice From The New York Times on Writing Well http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/20/writing-rules-advice-from-the-new-york-times-on-writing-well/

Ten Misspelled Words That Affect Personal Brand http://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2013/07/29/ten-misspelled-words-that-affect-personal-brand/

"The Lesson behind “Sh++ty First Drafts" (The Writers Coin) http://www.thewriterscoin.com/the-lesson-behind-shitty-first-drafts/

The Right Way to Expand a Too-Short Piece of Writing (Aliventures) []

Understanding the "Show, Don't Tell" Rule http://www.aliventures.com/why-show-dont-tell/

10 Steps for editing your own writing http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-steps-for-editing-your-own-writing/

Proofreading from hard copy http://www.dailywritingtips.com/proofreading-from-hard-copy/

How do you teach someone to write well? http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-do-you-teach-someone-to-write-well/

Polishing Your Prose http://chronicle.com/article/Polishing-Your-Prose-Word-by/137327/

How to edit a sentence http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-edit-a-sentence/

Five Weak Words that Make Your Writing Less Effective http://goinswriter.com/weak-words/

100 Quick and Easy Ways to Write Better http://www.writingforward.com/better-writing/ways-to-write-better

The Foolproof Cure for Weak Content: 4 Ways to Get Some Perspective []

7 Tips for an Authentic and Productive Writing Process []

Editing for Tighter Copy: How to Write with a Knife http://www.copyblogger.com/write-with-a-knife/

15 Ways to Write Tight []

7 steps to creativity – how to have ideas []

Thesis Statements (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/

Transitions (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/transitions/

Writing Concisely (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/writing-concisely/

Writing for History (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/history/

Writing for Political Science (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/political-science/

Editing and Proofreading (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/editing-and-proofreading/

Reading Aloud (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/reading-aloud/

Paragraphs (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/quotations/

Revising Drafts (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/revising-drafts/

Reorganizing Drafts (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/reorganizing-drafts/

Quotations (UNC Writing Center) http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/quotations/

Writing Clear, Concise Sentences (Writing Center--University of Wisconsin, Madison) http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Clear,_Concise,_and_Direct_Sentences.pdf


 * MY GO-TO RESOURCES**

After Deadline (New York Times newsroom notes on usage and style) http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) https://owl.english.purdue.edu/

University of North Carolina Writing Center http://writingcenter.unc.edu/

Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College http://www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/