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Writing resources

This page lists resources to help with writing planning and execution.

See also:
Planning, Writing and finalizing your Proposal and Dissertation (coming soon)
  • APA 7th
  • Grammar 
  • Workflow
  • Citation Tools
  • Books
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APA 7th edition Style references

APA 7th Quick Reference Guide - A two page, large type, color coded guide to the three most common APA 7th citations - Journal Article, Book, Edited Book.
APA Style  - an authoritative site by the publishers of APA Publication Manual, includes an excellent blog where they do deep dives into the details.
Basics of APA 7th  - A self-paced online overview of APA 7th fundamentals.
Perdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA style and writing guide - look at the menu on the left for specific APA topics
St. Scholastia Guide to APA 7th - use the tabs and drop-down menus to see examples for various formats
APA 7th edition is the official citation style for the Reiss Davis Graduate School. You will be required to purchase a copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, but the resources listed here will give you concise overviews of the style, plus help with automatically generating citations in the correct style. Please note that your APA 7th print edition and the style guides  should be consulted if in doubt, as not all citation generators are completely APA 7th compliant.

Polishing Your Language

These websites don’t go into as much depth as  books, but they cover the basics of grammar, punctuation, style, usage, and/or mechanics.
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The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University: The “Grammar and Mechanics” section contains links to handouts on grammar (e.g., “how to use adjectives and adverbs”), punctuation (e.g., “conquering the comma,” style (e.g., “sentence clarity”), and mechanics (e.g., numbers, spelling).

Guide to Grammar and Writing, Capital Community College—The “Word and Sentence Level” and “Paragraph Level” drop-down menus contain links to thorough descriptions of grammar, punctuation, style, and usage topics.  The Frequently Asked Questions and GRAMMARLOGS sections may also be useful if you have a particular question in mind (e.g., whether “girls basketball” or “girls’ basketball” is preferred). For an alphabetical index of topics, click   here.  It appears to have last been updated in 2005.

Grammar Handbook, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—Clear and well-organized discussions of parts of speech and the structure of phrases, clauses, and sentences. Also contains what it calls “common usage problems” (though you typically will not find these topics listed under “usage”): information on homophones, parallelism, misplaced and dangling modifiers, sentence fragments, and run-on sentences.

HyperGrammar, University of Ottawa—Hyperlinked descriptions of parts of speech; parts of a sentence; punctuation; using pronouns, verbs, and modifiers; building phrases, clauses, and sentences; writing paragraphs; diction; spelling; and miscellaneous (thesis, word formation, apposition, noun and pronoun characteristics).

Ask Betty, University of Washington—Information on how to decode instructor comments like “awk”; questions and answers from students (e.g., “When do I use whom?”); and a section on grammar, style, and punctuation topics (e.g., active and passive voice, cohesion).
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22 Short Films about Grammar--These one-minute videos, created by Mark C. Marino, cover common errors in grammar, punctuation, and style in a hilarious way. Check out, for example, "the Sopronouns" and "Pirates of the Parallel Structure."  

Other online Resources and Apps

Grammarly: Free grammar and punctuation help with browser extension; features include advanced spell checker, plagiarism assistance, and explanation of rules. Premium version available for a fee.

Sentence Sense:  Interactive activities including writing practice, self-evaluations, and guided explorations of various grammar topics.

Grammar Bytes!  Interactive exercises on topics such as run-on sentences, sentence fragments, irregular verbs, commas, pronoun agreement, pronoun reference, subject-verb agreement, and word choice. Also contains tip sheets and definitions of grammatical terms.
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Common Errors in English Usage.  Web site created by Washington State University Professor Paul Brians focusing on usage (as opposed to grammar more generally). Useful for determining whether a word or phrase is acceptable in Standard English (e.g., “whipped cream” versus “whip cream”) or distinguishing between two very similar words (e.g., “uninterested” versus “disinterested”). 

Tools to help focus on Writing

  • Timeboxing: You Will Work Like Never Before
  • Tomighty: Free desktop Pomodoro timer for Mac and Windows. (http://tomighty.org/) 
  • Marinara Timer: Free, web-based Pomodoro timer. (http://www.marinaratimer.com/) 
  • Q10: Windows only. Text editing freeware; portable app version that can be run from a thumb drive. (http://www.baara.com/q10/) 
  • Write or Die: For Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and iPad. $20. Platform designed to keep you writing. Provides annoying consequences for procrastination, or calming encouragement to keep going, depending on the mode you choose. (http://writeordie.com/)

​Resources on Mindfulness and Writing

  • A Mindful Free-Writing Exercise
  • How to Use Mindfulness to Write More with Less Effort
  • Writing Down the Bones
  • Prolific Moment by Alexandria Peary--book, blog, TEDx talk

Citation managers with Word integration

https://www.zotero.org/
Free open source citation and bibliography software for Mac and Windows that integrates with Word and OfficeLibre. Browser Plug-ins available for major browsers. See their Get Started Guide. And their guide to Word Processor Integration. Paid version with more online storage available.
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Free social bibliographic citation software that operated online, on desktops, and in ios and android environments. Premium accounts available with more storage.

Online Citation Generators

CiteFast - a completely free citation generator and manager. Create an account to store bibliographies indefinitely. This resource is currently promoted in the Dissertation Development class.
Citethisforme - free bibliography generator, free account to save bibliographies.  Also has a guide  to APA .
Citation Machine - generated automatic bibliographies, also contains basic guidance to apa style
Ottobib - full book citations by entering the isbn, make sure to select APA style (defaults to MLA)

Book Recommendations

Spiral bound book with orange and blue cover with a stylized transparent leaf overlaid over the colors.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 7th Edition, Spiral Bound The spiral bound version is recommended for reference use, as it will lie flat, has color coded tabs and is optimally organized for ease of use as a reference. ISBN: 9781433832178
Gray book cover with teal and black writing
Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, 4th edition This slim volume contains concise advice on how to declutter and optimize for clarity in your writing. Highly recommended, and should be available from all public libraries. Paperback ISBN: 9780205309023
Many of the resources are from    gwc.gsrc.ucla.edu/Resources .

Resource Guides

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  • About
    • Accreditation
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    • Faculty
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    • Contact Us
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Calendar
    • Application procedures
    • Apply For Early Admission
    • Apply For Regular Admission
    • Transfer Credit Policy
    • Upcoming Open House
  • Academics
    • Academic Calendar
    • Academic Policies
    • Academic Mission and Outcomes
    • Cohort Catalogs & Handbooks >
      • Cohort H
      • Cohort G
      • Cohort F
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    • Inclusion Office: Diversity, Inclusion, and Disability
    • Pathway to BOP Licensure
    • PsyD Program Time Line
    • Student Achievement and Learning
  • Resources
    • Announcements
    • Library
    • Literature Research Resources >
      • PEP Archive Tips
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    • Populi, Email & Office 365, Computer Use
    • Writing Resources
  • Student Services
    • Accommodations
    • Registrar >
      • Grades
      • Transcripts
    • Student Complaints
    • Student Finance >
      • CARES Act
      • Federal Financial Aid
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      • Tuition & Fees