Writing Resources

Improving Student Writing

For Students to Read:

• Information on how to cite sources and what constitutes plagiarism from the Dartmouth College Institute for Writing and Rhetoric
• Strunk, W., Jr. & White, E. B., 1979. The Elements of Style, 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 85pp.
• Guide to Grammar and Writing from the Capital Community College Foundation. Check out the Essay and Research Paper Level and the quizzes.
• Writing Resources: a series of handouts developed by Harvard University's Writing Center that focus on writing essays. Topics include essay structure, thesis development, topic sentences, transitions, conclusions and revisions.
• Peat, J., Elliott, E., Baur, L., and Keena, V. 2002. Scientific Writing: Easy When You Know How, BMJ Publishing Group.

For You to Read:

• Developing Strong Writing Assignments

Improving Your Writing

• How to Write a Lot: a Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing by Paul Silvia
• A Handbook for Scholars ( This site may be offline. ) by Mary-Claire van Leunen
• Suggestions to Authors of Reports to the USGS, particularly the "Choosing the right word" and "Suggestions as to expression" sections.
• The Science of Scientific Writing by Gopen and Swan in American Scientist, 1990.
• Landes (1951): Scrutiny of the Abstract
• Claerbout (19935): Scrutiny of the Introduction
• Bates, Robert Latimer. Writing in Earth Science: American Geological Institute, 1988.
• From Research to Manuscript: A Guide to Scientific Writing, by Michael Jay Katz
• Janet Kayfetz's blog has many excellent entries on writing and speaking.