Teaching composition is one of the most demanding tasks a college instructor can confront. How do you actually teach someone to write? More often than not, it is easier to identify what doesn't work in a student's paper than to guide them to what does work. Students, accustomed to the five-paragraph essay format they were taught in high school, crave directive advice about how to produce college writing; however, they will only become effective college writers if they break away from formulaic conceptions of what academic writing looks like.
While the teaching of writing will always be difficult, there are several websites that can provide you and your students with invaluable resources for the college writing process. By providing detailed—but not reductive—information about how to transition from high school to college writing, these resources are an invaluable compliment to classroom instruction and paper comments. Some of these sites also provide clear and simple advice to students about common citation formats. A surprisingly large number of college freshmen have never had to use a standard citation style; these resources can serve as a reassuring guide through this often daunting process.
1. The UNC Writing Center's Handout Section
The UNC Writing Center offers over 80 individual handouts geared to the writing concerns both of freshmen and of upperclassmen. As an instructor, I've found that UNC's handouts often express exactly what I wanted to tell my students about a particular topic but couldn't quite find the words in which to do so. I particularly suggest using UNC's instructive handout on College v. High School Writing. The handout conveniently hyperlinks to other topics that would be of particular use to new college writers: introductions, conclusions, thesis statement develop, and argumentation. All handouts are free for educational use so long as they are reproduced in their entirety.
2. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue
Providing a systematic review of grammar and punctuation, as well as detailed information on MLA and APA citation styles, the Purdue OWL has long been a godsend for teachers and students alike. I have found the OWL to be such an extensive and effective resource that I no longer assign a detailed grammar, style, and citation guide to my students. Instead of paying upwards of $30 for a small paperback, my students are able to access accurate, detailed, and easily navigable information directly through the OWL, which I provide a link to on my course management website. Students can also complete a wide variety of exercises to test their knowledge and to identify areas where they might need more study.
3. The Chicago Manual of Style Online Citation Quick Guide
While the Purdue OWL is an amazing resource, it does not include information on Chicago style citation. Fortunately, the website of The Chicago Manual of Style offers free access to a basic citation guide that covers the notes and bibliography and author-date citation formats for any materials freshmen writers would likely use. However, due to its limited explanation of how to utilize Chicago style, you will want to briefly explain to students how the citation system works as a whole.
Charlene Kinbote - Charlene Kinbote is a doctoral student in English literature. She lives in upstate New York.
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