For Our Student Clients

We are glad you are here!

Feeling overwhelmed with writing assignments? Not quite sure where to begin?  Want to do better than last semester and improve as a writer? Not sure that you are making sense any more? Want to be sure that you are not plagiarizing and that you are following all of the citation and formatting rules? Have you always struggled with grammar or with finding the clearest way to express your ideas?

If you have answered yes to any or all of these questions, you have come to the right place. We are trained, committed to your success, and, most of all, understanding.  We have all been where you are at one time or another. We are always learning better ways to help you and to help ourselves as writers too.

Check us out. We promise it will be time well spent.

Words of Wisdom from Writing Center tutors

Making the Most of a Writing Center Appointment
by Irene Ruiz Dacal

Getting Started
by Alaina Carlson

How to improve your grades
by Alaina Carlson

Staying motivated to write
by Alaina Carlson

Need Practice?

Grammar and style

Refresh your grammar and writing skills with these exercises, developed by Writing Center tutors. The exercises are divided into three categories, progressing from the basics of sentence structure to issues in writing style.  Answers are provided at the bottom of each page. 

Making Sense of a Sentence 

Essential Elements of a Sentence

Sentence Fragments

Run-on Sentences

Noun-Verb Agreement

Verb Tenses

Articles

Nuanced Sentence Structure

Commas

Apostrophe Use

Prepositions

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Parallel Sentence Structure  

The Thirteen Most Frequent Errors in Grammar and Punctuation (with relevant pages from Diana Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual)

Advanced Sentence Structure

Active and Passive Voice

Diction

Concision

 

Developing Your Ideas:

The first stage of the writing process is often the hardest. Look here for helpful tips on shaping your ideas, from note-taking to drafting a thesis to organization.

Brainstorming, Prewriting, and Outlining

Questions to Ask When Developing a Thesis Statement

How Will I Know it When I See It: Developing the Best Thesis Statements

Quoting, Paraphrasing, Citations, and Avoiding the Writing Habits and Pitfalls that Can Lead to Plagiarism

When should I quote? When is it better to paraphrase? Am I presenting an idea that is truly mine? How do I properly incorporate the ideas of others? Find answers to these questions here.

Meeting college writing expectations

Writing in the academic world is no easy task, but we can help. Find pointers on writing for different disciplines, criteria for well-constructed papers, and how to effectively support an argument under these links.

International Students

Feel a bit like Bill Murray in Tokyo—lost in translation? The Writing Center is here to help your writing and ideas bridge culture and language frontiers. Click here to start. 

 Useful Web-based resources

Lake Forest Library Citation Guides

This link connects you to the Lake Forest Library’s guide to MLA, APA, Chicago, CSE, and ACS citation styles. The page provides specific citation examples for several different types of online sources as a supplement to Hacker’s guide, A Pocket Style Manual.

Diana Hacker Official Website

Clicking on the Student Sites link at the top of the main page brings you to a selection of companion web sites for five different Hacker guides, covering citation, research, style, grammar, and other writing tips. Each guide offers helpful resources, including exercises, English as a Second Language help, model papers, and tutorials. Simply register, free of charge, to access a large selection of instructive materials, including interactive, instant feedback grammar and other practice exercises.

Purdue Online Writing Lab

This site offers an extensive selection of writing resources, from guides for subject-specific writing to writing effectively in the workplace. Writers can access exercises for spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and more. International students will find helpful resources in a section devoted to writing in a second language. A research section guides writers through the research process and provides helpful tips for evaluating sources and finding information online.

Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Click here to find an entertaining way to brush up on your grammar! This podcast offers quick tips for writers looking to improve their grammatical skills. Each episode focuses on a different topic.