Virtual Writing Center Resources
We’ve developed a wide variety of useful resources to help you through your writing.
Curious about how Academic Writing relates to other kinds of writing, the tasks it requires of you, and how to do research and evaluate material? Check out “Academic Writing” for some support. Struggling through writing a big assignment and wondering what steps you need to take? Investigate our section on “The Writing Process,” which covers brainstorming to drafting to revision to final editing.
We also have resources for using style guides, doing career writing, doing the specialized writing required in major academic projects like dissertations, and more! We’re always working on developing new tools, and we’re always interested in feedback on what you appreciate and what will help you in the future. Please feel free to email us with any thoughts or suggestions!
Academic Writing
For many students in college and graduate school, Academic Writing can be a new and challenging endeavor, just different enough to be confusing. These resources can help you navigate the world of academia, understand the requirements of academic writing, and approach common academic tasks.
Academic Writing
- How is Academic Writing Different?
- Academic Values and the Writer’s Craft
- Writing for Academic Audiences
- Finding Your Academic Voice
- Reflective Writing
- Understanding Writing with Bloom’s Taxonomy
- Reader-based Writing and Higher-order Concerns
Common Academic Tasks
- Balancing Responsibilities in Graduate School
- Using Mindfulness for Writing-Related Anxiety
- Corresponding With Your Instructor
- Strategies for Receiving Feedback
- Handling Comments in Track Changes
- Taking Class Notes
- Timed Writing
- How to Take Standardized Writing Tests
- Developing Effective Presentations
- Basic Tips for a Video Presentation of Your Research
Help with Common Assignments
- Terms Used in Academic Assignments
- Template for Academic Papers
- Writing Reflection Papers
- Writing Discussion Posts
- Writing a Research Paper
- Writing Critical Review Papers
- Writing a Case Conceptualization
- Writing a Family of Origin Paper
- Writing a Chapter in a Longer Document
- Writing an Annotated Bibliography
- Writing the Literature Review
Researching
Reading deeply, collecting and critiquing ideas, and integrating those ideas into your own are essentially the foundations of Academic thought. By questioning and critiquing the ideas of others, as well as our own, we build a culture of knowledge that values evidence over gut feeling or fuzzy reasoning. By synthesizing and advancing the ideas of others, we contribute to the development of knowledge for all humanity. These resources can help you investigate your ideas and the ideas of others, and show you how to integrate those appropriately in academic writing.
Reading and Doing Research
- Active Reading Strategies
- Critical Reading Exercises
- Gathering Information
- What is Peer Review and Why Does it Matter?
- Evaluating Research Generally
- Evaluating Empirical Research
Integrating Sources
- The Art of Integrating Sources
- Using Quotations Overview
- The Delicate Balance of Using Quotes
- A Short Guide to Paraphrasing
- Tips on Paraphrasing
- Antioch University Plagiarism Policy
The Writing Process
Writing is a process of recursion and revision. These resources are here to help you every step of the way, from generating your ideas to drafting your work to revising your writing to polishing the whole.
Brainstorming and Organizing
- Brainstorming and Generating Ideas
- Brainstorming for Visual Thinkers
- Choosing a Topic
- How to Organize Ideas
- Identifying Audience and Purpose
- Planning To Write
- An Inquiry Planner (step 1)
- The Informal Paper Proposal (step 2)
- Beginning the Writing Process
- Using P.O.W.E.R. to Take on the Blank Page
Writing the First Draft
- Four Strategies To Help You Write A Draft
- Staying Productive
- Thesis Statements
- Narrowing Your Focus
- Connecting Ideas
- Making Clear Connections
- Writing the Hook: Revising Your Introduction
- Writing Conclusions: The Lasting Impression
Revising and Re-seeing
- Nine Revision Strategies
- The Reverse Outline
- Revising for Coherence
- Wordiness and the Passive Voice
- How to Use the Active Voice
- The Art of Clear Sentences
- Writing Concisely
- The Paramedic Method
Polishing and Editing
- Editing Strategies and Questions
- Final Editing and Proofing
- Three Last-Minute Editing Strategies
- Mindful Use of I
- Comma Usage
- When to Use Semi-Colons
- Homophones
Theses and Dissertations
Major pieces of academic writing often require more detailed and specific choices on the part of the writer. These resources are here to guide you through the details of specialized academic writing, including the biggest single task of your degree. Also check out additional Thesis and Dissertation Resources on the Antioch Writers’ Exchange.
Specialized Writing Tasks
- Approaching Unfamiliar Genres and Writing Tasks
- Writing Thesis and Dissertation Proposals
- Writing an Annotated Bibliography
- Writing the Literature Review
- Basics for Writing Literature Reviews
- Writing a Chapter in a Longer Project
- Writing and Revising Abstracts
- The Art of Effective Presentations
General Thesis and Dissertation Tips
- Choosing a Dissertation Topic
- Dissertation and Thesis Writing Groups
- Break Breakdown: How to Manage Page and Section Breaks in Microsoft Word
- WEX Tips: The Literature Review
- Including Media in Your Scholarly Work
- Additional Thesis and Dissertation Resources on the Antioch Writers’ Exchange
Other Resources:
- Justus Randolph, in the on-line journal Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, offers “A Guide to Writing the Dissertation Literature Review,” which breaks down the elements and goals of the lit review into clear, manageable chunks.
- Boote and Beile’s Literature Review Scoring Rubric offers students a quick-glance version of what a literature review includes as well as a sense of what a good literature review does that a poor one does not.
Style and Citations
Regardless of your field and specialty, you can rest assured that you will need to cite your sources and abide by the rules of a style guide. These resources focus on helping you manage those expectations, especially around the particulars of things like APA style.
- APA Style 7th Edition Quick Reference for Common Types of Sources
- APA Style 7th Edition Checklist
- APA Style 7th Edition Changes for Student Writers
- Citation Managers
- An Overview of APA Style 6th Edition
- Common Mistakes in APA Style 6th Edition
Other Resources:
- Visit the American Psychological Association website for updated information regarding APA style and formatting guidelines for writing in the psychology and social sciences.
- Visit the Modern Language Association website for updated information regarding MLA style and formatting guidelines for writing in the humanities.
Resources for Multi-Lingual Writers
One of the most challenging tasks in academia can be to approach it in an unfamiliar language. As we develop additional resources, this will be a place to help guide you through that endeavor.
- Resources and Support for Multi-Lingual Writers
- Writing in a Second Language
- Keep a Grammar Log
- Comma Usage
- Homophones
Other Resources:
- The Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary gives simple, clear definitions of English words.
- The Visual Dictionary Online is an all-in-one reference. Search the themes to quickly locate words, or find the meaning of a word by viewing the image it represents.
- The Visual Thesaurus represents words, their synonyms, and their antonyms visually and makes finding the right word a fast and fun task. The nuances of English is brilliantly color-coded and spatially represented.
- English Grammar, Usage and Style Reference List
- The Elements of Style
- Common Errors in English Usage
- The Cengage College E-Exercises give you the opportunity to increase your grammar and writing skills in 30 areas and over 700 exercises. You can work at your own pace wherever you want: home, computer lab, or classroom
- Punctuation and Mechanics
- Parts of Speech
- Spelling
- Sentences and Sentence Problems
- Style
- The Grammar Girl offers quick tips on word choice, grammar, and style.
Professional Writing
As soon as you complete your degree, and often before, you’ll need to be looking ahead to your eventual career. Within your program you may also be applying to internships or field placements. Since professional writing has its own standards and expectations, we’ve developed a few resources to guide you along the way.
Writing With Purpose
Vincent explains some of the keys to professional writing with a purpose statement.
Video Library
An Arduous Journey
The arduous journey of becoming a writer — an introduction to Antioch’s Virtual Writing Center.
Eliminating the Random
Adrian Garcia, a doctoral student at Antioch University, shares how peer feedback helps him understand his readers’ questions, eliminate unnecessary tangents and build coherence in his writing.
Understanding The Vulnerability of the Writer
Anthony Kagochi, a graduate student at Antioch University and peer consultant for the Virtual Writing Center, discusses the challenges of writing and his role as an online writing tutor.
Noticing My Identity As A Writer
Cyn Clarfield, a doctoral student at Antioch University, explains how the feedback she gets from peers helps her notice and understand patterns in her writing.
Telling the Paper Aloud
Liz Amaro, a graduate student at Antioch University, explains how she works with peers to explore and structure her paper before she writes a draft.
Making Sure All the Ideas In My Head are in the Paper
Jon Stevens, a graduate student at Antioch University, reflects on how the feedback he gets from peers helps him make sure that all the ideas in his head make it clearly and coherently onto the page.
The Value of Good Questions
John Hetherington, a graduate student at Antioch University, discusses how peer feedback helps him uncover good questions and move his writing forward.
Write with Intention and Courage
Denny Russell, MA, coordinator of the Robert Dizney Writing Center at Antioch University Midwest, talks about the challenges of finding an authentic purpose and the courage it takes to share what you write.
The Research Essay – An Expression of Curiosity
Vincent Kovar, MA, discusses how the academic research essay should be an expression of your curiosity.
The Writing Process – Discovering What You Have To Say
Rebecca Davis, PhD talks about the importance of discovering exactly what you have to say and how your writing process can help lead to that discovery.
The Research Essay – Write A Documentary
Hidy Basta, PhD explains how writing a research paper is like putting together a documentary film. Not only does the organization of the information help the reader understand, it’s an expression of your voice.
Find A Writing Process That Works For You
Brandy Parris, PhD reveals that no two people share the same writing process, so it is important that you find a process that works for you, not one that works for your professor or friend.