Writing/Study Resources

Below is a collection of web resources RWC students have used to improve their skills.

Composition and Grammar

The OWL (Online Writing Lab) of Purdue University is an excellent resource for students of English. Valuable information is available on topics such as the writing process, grammar and mechanics, and business/professional writing. Be sure, especially, to check the writing process page when you are having trouble drafting a thesis statement or are suffering from writer's block.

illustration of a professor. Another worthwhile resource is the ESC Online Writing Center. This award-winning web site was developed by professors at Empire State College in New York. They discuss vital college concepts such as academic writing and critical thinking. In addition, they provide excellent advice on writing research papers.

For additional work on critical thinking and argumentation, including interactive exercises, check Mission Critical, a web site designed by Professor David Mesher at San Jose State University.

The Guide to Grammar and Writing is produced by Capital Community College in Hartford, Connecticut. Its developers offer information on topics from grammar and vocabulary to sentences and paragraphs to essays and research papers. You will also find very good interactive grammar quizzes on this site.

Documentation

Be sure to check the OWL website for help with both MLA and APA documentation.

researcher The CRC librarians have created handouts for MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles, which contain information on creating a bibliography page and using parenthetical references for essays and research papers. You can pick up free copies of these handouts in the Library, the Computer Lab (LRC-204), or the RWC. Also, the seventh edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers and the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association are available in the RWC for your reference.

Study Tools

Study Guides and Strategies contains tips—in 30 languages!—on time management, preparing for and taking exams, reading efficiently, working in groups, and much, much more. . . .

Sites to Promote Academic Success is an impressive page assembled by Professor Linda Walsh from the University of Northern Iowa. This page is filled with tips on time management, note taking, test taking, memory improvement, and other valuable skills.

An excellent combination dictionary and thesaurus is also available online.

Library (LOIS)

The Library is an online resource too! The Los Rios Online Information System (LOIS) is the name given to the collected library works from four colleges—CRC, American River, Sac City, and Folsom Lake. Users who wish to borrow materials—books, media, etc.—from another school library may make arrangements with the Library. In addition, LOIS features an excellent collection of research databases—a real find!