Writing Help

A quick-tip sheet for how to cite sources in a Works Cited page and how to cite and punctuate quotations following MLA format.

Step-by-step instructions for how to format your paper.

Basic writing guidelines for English Majors and Minors, including how to work with quoted evidence, voice and clarity, and sentence mechanics.

Basic writing guidelines for first-year students in the Honors College.

Sign up for additional writing help at the Writing Center, located on the second floor of Buley Library.

General Writing Resources

The following are general writing guidelines for English students at SCSU.

Writing Handouts and Models - First-Year Students

These are writing handouts and models frequently used in my first-year composition and inquiry courses.

The four steps of writing strong paragraphs: claim, evidence, analysis, refined claim

The basics of introducing topic, issue, and thesis in an introduction

Connecting claims, evidence, and analysis between body paragraphs

An example of how to revise sparse paragraphs

A sample student essay analyzing a text or film, using multiple sources

Advice for first-year students on how to get more out of their emails to professors

Writing Handouts and Models - English Majors and Minors

The following are writing handouts that frequently appear in my English 300 and 400-level courses.

How to introduce a problem-based thesis statement in the opening paragraph of a literary essay, in only three sentences

How to write a longer opening paragraph for a literary essay that advances a problem-based thesis statement

A sample student paragraph that does a lot of close reading in a limited amount of space

An excerpt of a close reading of a lyric poem by a sophomore SCSU English major for an introduction literature course

An excerpt of a critical essay written by a junior SCSU English major for an upper-level literary history course