Welcome to the WRITING CENTER

The Writing Center is located in Ekstrom Hall, room E-502, adjacent to the Academic Skills Development Center. Tutors are available during the following hours:

Monday            9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday         10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday   10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Thursday       10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

The Writing Center provides individualized tutorial services and writing instruction to all NVCC students and the Waterbury community.

Writing Center tutors will...

• help you clarify the requirements of an assignment
• help you find ways to gather material for a writing assignment
• help you draft a paper
• help you develop your ideas
• help you identify gaps in your writing, as well as lapses in coherence, unity, and logic;
• help you find suitable organizational structures for your papers; and
• help you identify and correct patterns of error in your writing before submitting it.

But the Writing Center can't cure all writing problems in a single tutorial session. Our goal is to help you become a more competent and confident writer.

We hope to achieve that goal by helping writers find more effective writing strategies, by teaching them to recognize their own writing errors, and by providing them with a sympathetic reader who can offer constructive, honest criticism.

Writing Center tutors will NOT...

• write or revise your papers for you
• find and correct all the errors in your paper
• grade writing (or comment on a professor's grade)
• take responsibility for the grade you receive from your professors

To get the most out of a visit to the Writing Center, YOU should...

• bring a copy of the writing assignment
• bring a draft of the paper he or she wants some help with (typed, double-spaced, if possible);
• bring a copy of another paper (if one is available) that was graded by the teacher;
• bring a course syllabus;
• come to the Center well in advance of the paper's due date (at least several days) in order to allow plenty of time for revision and editing
• actively participate in your tutorial.
• If you have a question about our services, call the Writing Center at...

203-575-8153

Helpful Online Links

• Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia: An online Encyclopedia.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/

• Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: An online Dictionary Source.

http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm

• Yahoo's Encyclopedic Links:  Several types of general and specialized encyclopedias.

http://www.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia

• Alternative Dictionaries Project:  An internet collaborative project on international slang.

http://www.notam.uio.no/~hcholm/altlang

• NVCC Library Home Page: A great place to start any writing or research project.

http://www.nv2.commnet.edu/library

• Writing Introductions and Conclusions: Links to sites that have materials specifically on writing introductions and conclusions.

http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus/linkstitle.htm

• Organizing Information: Links to sites that have materials specifically on taking notes, outlining and organizing.

http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus/linksorganizing.htm

• Revising and Rewriting: Links to sites that have materials on proofreading, editing, and revising, including critiquing and peer review checklists.

http://www.ipl.org/teen/aplus/linksrevising.htm

• Avoiding Plagiarism: UW-Lacrosse provide links to sites that define and illustrate plagiarism, as well as advice for avoiding plagiarism.

http://www.uwlax.edu/murphylibrary/plagiarism.html

• SparkNOTES: Another great place to start any writing or research project. Other Resources available to help in ALL your classes.

http://www.sparknotes.com

• Writing Help for Desperate Students: This offers an interesting look with additional links available.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/k/x/kxk30/des-student/help.htm

• Capitol Community College's Guide to Grammar and Writing: Online handbook, grammar exercises and quizzes, guide to writing, links to other useful help.

http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar

• Purdue University's Online Writing Lab - OWL: Instructional handouts, help with ESL concerns, links to other resources.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu

• OWL's Guide to Documenting Electronic Sources: Links to sources which will help anybody doing research on the Internet to cite such sources using different styles.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_docelectric.html

• The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: It should be called a thinking guide rather than a writing guide. Lots of information.

http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com

• Elements of Style:William Strunk's Writing Tips.

http://www.bartleby.com/141

• Bartelby.com: The Reference section has a dictionary and thesaurus.

www.bartleby.com or http://www.bartleby.com/reference

• Paradigm Online Writing Resources: Advice on writing informal essays, thesis/support essays, exploratory essays, and argumentative essays.

http://www.powa.org

• Dave's ESL Cafe: Idea page, idiom page, phrasal verb page, question page, quiz center, quote page, slang.

http://www.eslcafe.com

• Common Errors in English: A list of the most common errors in usage with explanations and examples.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html

• DeVry's Online Writing Support Center: Resources in composition and technical communication.

http://www.devry-phx.edu/lrnresrc/dowsc

• R.P.I.'s Writing Center: Features online handouts on , documentation sources, writing cover letters, lab reports, critiques, cover letters and resumes, definitional techniques, developing and delivering presentations, ESL concerns, suggestions for revising prose, thesis development and writing with gender-fair language.

http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/handouts.html

• Southeastern Missouri State University's Writing Center: Handouts, materials on the writing process, links.

http://cstl.semo.edu/writing/index.htm

• WriteNet - Worcester State College's Web Site: Contains writing guides, how-to materials.

http://wwwfac.worcester.edu/owl/main.htm

• Hampstead School's Online English Grammar: Searchable.

http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/toc.cfm

• Grammar and Style Notes: A miscellany of grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and suggestions on usage.

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing

• Links to Connecticut Newspapers: Dailies, weeklies, and alternative newspapers online.

http://ajr.newslink.org/cnnews.html

• Media on the Web: Newspapers, magazines worldwide.

http://www.mediainfo.com/emedia/search.htm

• Handbook of Terms for Discussing Poetry: A guide to figurative language, language and meaning, poetic kinds and genres, rhythm and meter stanzas, and verse forms.

http://www.cc.emory.edu/ENGLISH/classes/Handbook/Handbook.html

• Critical Reading Strategies: Seven strategies designed to help students make reading more satisfying and productive.

http://mind.phil.vt.edu/www/1204crs.html

• Statistical Resources on the Web: University of Michigan's collection of links to statistics sites, organized by subject.

http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/documents.center/frames/statsfr.html

• Guide to Citing Online Sources: Why, what, how of documentation.

http://www-adm.pdx.edu/user/eng-wp/wcenter/citation.html

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Improving your Study Skills

• American Studies Learning Skills - The cafe - style menu here features sections on reading, taking notes and writing papers. It employs a unique approach, using popular and historical imagery to make points about critical thinking and understanding. The note-taking sections are particularly helpful, offering basic guidelines and instructions for re-creating an analytical train of thought when writing papers. Bottom Line: Learn how to read, write and take notes effectively.
• Study Guides and Strategies -- Reading, studying, writing, preparing for tests and participating in class are covered thoroughly here. Worth exploring are the tips on multiple choice, short answer, essay, true/false and math tests. By the way, if that test is tomorrow, visit the section on cramming in Preparing for Tests. Bottom Line: The studying and test taking tips are especially valuable.
• Study Skills Self-Help Information -- Sometimes emotional and mental factors become more of a problem for students than specific study skills. This site from Virginia Tech covers such issues as distractions, concentration, motivation, priorities, stress and memory. Our favorite: ten rational tips on how to beat the procrastination blues. There's also help with reading scientific material, constructing a term paper and proofreading. Bottom Line: Learn how to deal with distractions, procrastination and stress.
• Estudy Centre -Despite some Australian terminology, this site has practical advice for the college-level student. It addresses the jump from high school to college ("uni") and the changes in expectations, workloads and student-teacher interaction. Detailed sections cover common study topics - taking notes, writing reports and taking exams. Time management is covered in unusual depth here. Bottom Line: Great advice for making the transition to college.
• University Learning Center's Study Skills Handouts -- This guide from the university of North Dakota features tip sheets that exemplify what note-taking should look like: well-organized, concise and easy to skim. Learn hot to study smarter, increase motivation, cram and improve listening skills. There are also handouts on taking notes and writing essays. Bottom Line: Easy-to-skim study tips and tricks.

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BIOGRAPHIES
· PBS Biographies · Time100 · InfoPlease.com: Biographies
· LIVES - The Biography Resource · Forbes 400 Richest People on Earth
· WIC Biography Index ·
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· AllSearchEngines · SearchWatch ·

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G. L. Collins for NVCC Writing Center Revised on 3/15/01 12:34 PM

©06/12/01 NVCC
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