Understanding the Assignment

• Assignment Requirements
• Assignment Purpose
• Types of Written Assignments
• Disciplinary Approaches
• Audience
• Understanding Your Assignment Checklist [pdf]

Time Management

• Why Manage Time?
• Creating a Schedule
• Assignment Preparation
• Class Preparation
• Planning Ahead
• Backwards Planning
• Setting Priorities
• Understanding Procrastination
• Assignment Task Checklist [pdf]
• Personal Academic Schedule Template [pdf]
• Procrastination Solutions [pdf]

Academic Integrity

Choosing a Topic

• Creating a Working Thesis
• Exploring Your Interests
• Finding Interesting Ideas
• Background Research
• Managing a Topic
• Narrowing a Topic
• Revising a Topic
• Brainstorming [pdf]
• Nutshelling [pdf]
• Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI) [pdf]

Books, Journals & More

• Selecting Sources
• Types of Sources - Scholarly vs. Popular
• Books
• How to Use a Book
• Journals
• Elements of a Journal
• Internet Sources
• Wikipedia and Encyclopedia
• Blogs and Podcasts
• You Tube and Moving Images
• Other Sources
• Evaluating Sources
• Test Your Knowledge
• PARCA Test [pdf]
• Selecting Assignment Sources [pdf]

Gathering & Noting Ideas

• Why Take Notes?
• Gathering Information
• How To Take Notes
• Making Sense of Your Notes
• Creating Graphic Notes
• Concept Mapping [pdf]
• Mind Mapping [pdf]
• Note-taking Worksheet [pdf]

Research Strategies

• Creating a Search Strategy
• Concept Quiz
• Determining Keywords
• Conducting Searches
• Searching the Library Catalogue
• Using Journal Databases
• Locating Articles
• Evaluating Search Results
• Combining Keywords Worksheet [pdf]
• Finding Library Catalogue Materials [pdf]
• PARCA Test[pdf]
• Search Strategies Worksheet [pdf]

Effective Reading Strategies

• Academic Reading
• Passive vs Active Reading
• SQ4R Reading Strategy
• Survey
• Question
• Read
• Respond
• Record
• Review
• Conquering Difficult Readings [pdf]
• SQ4R Worksheet [pdf]

Essay Structure

• Elements of Structure
• How Structure Emerges
• Structure and Purpose
• Outlines
• Paragraphs
• Sentence Structure
• Quotations
• Citations & Formatting
• Creating Complex Sentences [pdf]
• Essay Formatting: APA, Chicago, MLA [pdf]
• Sample Outline [pdf]
• Using Directing Quotations [pdf]

Creating Bibliographies

• Citing Sources - Part of Academic Culture
• Plagiarism
• Citations and Bibliographies
• Citation Style
• Citation Management
• RefWorks
• Zotero
• Annotated Bibliographies
• Annotated Bibliography Overview [pdf]
• APA Style Overview [pdf]
• Chicago Style Overview [pdf]
• MLA Style Overview [pdf]
• Tips for Creating Bibliographies [pdf]

Writing Strategies

• The Writing Process
• Essay Format
• Where to Begin
• Strategies for Starting
• Drafting
• Developing a Working Thesis
• Your Reader
• The Conclusion
• The Introduction
• Developing a Working Thesis [pdf]
• Starting Techniques [pdf]

Revising Your Arguments

• Why Revise?
• Thinking Like a Reader
• Take a Break
• Ask Others
• Reviewing
• the Whole
• the Paragraphs
• the Sentences
• Peer Review Guide [pdf]

Essay Editing

• Why Edit?
• Editing Content
• Editing Citations
• Editing Language
• Editing Grammar
• Editing Punctuation & Format
• Test Your Knowledge
• Tracking Frequent Errors
• Editing Checklist [pdf]
• Using Commas [pdf]