English as a Second Language (ESL)

Writing Help - General Information

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Writing Paragraphs

An introductory paragraph for an essay or paper should usually include the following three elements:

1. An attention getter to draw your readers in and make them interested in the subject matter
2. A brief overview of the subject to be discussed in the essay or paper
3. A thesis statement which states the goal or purpose of your essay or paper

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Writing an Essay

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Writing Papers

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Writing Literature Reviews

"A literature review discusses published information in a particular subject area, and sometimes information in a particular subject area within a certain time period.

A literature review can be just a simple summary of the sources, but it usually has an organizational pattern and combines both summary and synthesis. A summary is a recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a reshuffling, of that information. It might give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations. Or it might trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates. And depending on the situation, the literature review may evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most pertinent or relevant." Source: The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill. (2013). Literature Reviews. Retrieved from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

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Writing an Outline

An outline breaks down your thesis or paper into clear, definable parts. It presents a hierarchical image of your paper's main ideas and subsequent ideas or topics. Many students find that writing an outline before they write their paper helps keep them on track and makes the process a little easier.

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Grammar Help

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Annotated Bibliography

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is essentially a list of citations to books, articles, and other documents, e-resources--(websites for example), and media (film, music, television.)  Following the citation is a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph of the work.  These paragraphs are the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to help you manage your research and also to  inform your professor of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.

Example of a Book Citation with Annotation

Liroff, R. A., & G. G. Davis. (1981). Protecting open space: Land use control in the Adirondack Park. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.

This book describes the implementation of regional planning and land use regulation in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. The authors provide program evaluations of the Adirondack Park Agency’s regulatory and local planning assistance programs.

Example of a Journal Article Citation with Annotation

Gottlieb, P. D. (1995). The "golden egg" as a natural resource: Toward a normative theory of growth management. Society and Natural Resources, 8, (5): 49-56.

This article explains the dilemma faced by North American suburbs, which demand both preservation of local amenities (to protect quality of life) and physical development (to expand the tax base). Growth management has been proposed as a policy solution to this dilemma. An analogy is made between this approach and resource economics. The author concludes that the growth management debate raises legitimate issues of sustainability and efficiency.

Examples from the Robert E. Kennedy Library, CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, CA. https://lib.calpoly.edu/help-and-support/write-an-annotated-bibliography/#samples

Adapted from Olin & Uris Libraries,  Cornell University, Cornell, NY https://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography

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Assignment Calculators

Assignment calculators can help you organize and keep track of your assignments. Try one of the following free calculators: