CUA’s Writing
Center
111 O’Boyle Hall
x5018
What they CAN do:
• Help with “writer’s block”
• Listen and give feedback
• Help with understanding the
assignment
• Help identify what needs improving
• Supervise as you revise
• Coach proofreading and editing
skills
What they CAN’T do:
•
•
•
•
•
Write any portion of the paper
Make every correction
Tutor in the subject matter
Evaluate the assignment
Comment on what grade it should
receive
WRITING PAPERS ISN’T
A JOB FOR JUST
ANYONE.
IN
HOLD
OUT
Handout
online
BEFORE:
Getting READY to write
There are lots of
"correct" things
to write about
for any subject,
but you must
narrow down
your choices.
Brainstorm to fight
writer’s block
Gather as many
good and bad ideas,
examples,
sentences,
false starts, etc.
as you can.
Jot down everything
that comes to mind,
including material
you are sure
you will throw out.
“Free write.”
Consider stringing
together likely quotes
you’re going to use
just like a necklace
Speak it:
Put your thoughts into
words
You might try to teach
the topic to a group or
class.
Or pretend that you
are being interviewed
by someone:
What questions would
the other person ask?
“Nutshell” your whole
idea:
Tell it to someone in
three or four
sentences.
See if you can find
a fresh
analogy / metaphor
that opens up a new
set of ideas.
Metaphors can get you
thinking
“outside the box”
for a fresh or unusual
perspective on the topic.
Your topic’s like a “car”
that won’t start in winter what would you do?
Your topic’s just something
wrong with “digestion”:
“someone ate the wrong
thing,”
“constipation,”
“vomiting.”
Your topic’s a problem of
“addiction” who’s addicted to what?
Your topic’s a matter of
“physical sickness”it needs a “special drug,”
“a long recuperation,”
“help dealing with the
impossibility of cure.”
Your topic’s a “mental illness”it needs “shock treatment,
“talking therapy,”
“group therapy,”
“recognition that society
is crazy and
the patient is sane.”
Take a rest and
let it all simmer
Your thesis can help you
focus and can map out
your paper for you
Thesis: “Much of Martin
Luther King's success
resulted from the
passive resistance
techniques proposed by
Gandhi.”
Much of Martin Luther
King's success
resulted from
the passive resistance
techniques proposed by
Gandhi.
Outline:
I. Introduction and thesis
II. Passive resistance
III. King’s success
IV. Influence of Ghandi
V. Conclusion
The do’s and
don’ts of creating
a thesis:
Handout
online
Your thesis shouldn’t
be a fragment:
How Plato’s cave is
relevant.
BE COMPLETE
Socrates’ metaphor of the dark
cave shows the importance of
education.
Your thesis shouldn’t be
in the form of a question:
Why shouldn’t women
be educated?
BE DECLARATIVE:
Despite Plato’s bias,
women, as well as men,
can benefit from
education.
Your thesis shouldn’t
have phrases such as
“I think”:
I think women are better
thinkers than men.
BE DEFINITIVE :
Women have proved
themselves better at
multi-task thinking than
men.
Your thesis shouldn’t
be garbled:
Females can think about
several things at the same
time while men get stuck on
one issue and don’t see all
the conclusions.
BE LOGICAL:
Because females use
both sides of their brains
easily, they are better
complex thinkers.
Your thesis shouldn’t
use vague language:
It’s bad to keep the best
education reserved for some of
the people.
BE SPECIFIC:
Both sexes can benefit,
although in different
styles, from higher
education.
Your thesis shouldn’t be
hard to follow:
Women might think differently
from men sometimes but
they still have a lot to add to
what a country or maybe just
people in general need to do.
BE CLEAR:
Women are a crucial part
of the intellectual pool.
Your thesis shouldn’t
use figurative language:
Educating women is like
opening Pandora’s box.
BE LITERAL, SAVE
METAPHORS FOR YOUR
TEXT OR TITLE:
Adding females to the
educational system
introduces some
complications and
adjustments
Diagram/
outline
your major points
Plan ahead or you’ll write
yourself into a corner
The classic formula is
I. State your
thesis.
II. Write an outline.
III. Write the first
draft.
IV. Revise and
polish.
Less traditional:
Mapping
idea
TOPIC
DURING
Writing a FIRST draft
Write a first draft
Then put it away to
“ripen”.
(But don’t leave it so long it “rots”…)
Later, read it aloud
AFTER
REVISING and PROOFING
Revising your
draft:
1. Cut 
2. Paste
3. Fix
4. Prepare
5. Proof 
1.  Cut:
Chisel off the excess –
much of your paper
will be discarded
2.
Paste
Rearrange what’s
left of your paper
Transition
words make the
writing flow
In comparison
Like
Both
Likewise
In the same way
Next in importance
Handout
online
In contrast
But
Yet
However
Although
Instead
On the other hand
From another point of view
And
Too
Also
Besides
Moreover
In addition
Furthermore
Because
Thus
Since
Therefore
Consequently
For this reason
Order and Time
First, second….
Last, finally
Previously
Then/ Now/ Later
Next, Subsequently
Meanwhile
3. Fix
Check individual
words and phrases
There are more
than 250
versions of
“said.“
Besides “The author
said”:
Accused
Acquiesced
Addressed
Admonished
Advocated
Agreed
Announced
Apologized
Argued
Assented
Assumed
Attested
Acknowledged
Asked
Admitted
Advised
Affirmed
Alleged
Answered
Approved
Asked
Asserted
Assured
Authorized…
CONSULT:
a thesaurus
 a dictionary
 grammar check
 spell check
Prepositions
(to, from, about, over, between…)
are not words to
end sentences
with.
SPELL CHECK ISN'T FOOLPROOF:
I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC;
It plainly marks four my revue,
Mistakes I might not sea.
I've run this poem threw it,
I'm sure your pleased too no;
Its letter perfect, in its weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.
Punctuation matters:
Roger said I passed the
test.
Roger said, “I passed
the test.”
Woman without her
man is nothing.
Woman: without her,
man is nothing.
PRIVATE
NO
SWIMMING
ALLOWED
PRIVATE?
NO!
SWIMMING
ALLOWED.
Word placement
can make a
difference
7 scenarios for Romeo
and Juliet moving around
the single word “only”:
Only Juliet told Romeo that
she loved him.
(No one but Juliet loves
Romeo.)
Juliet only told Romeo that
she loved him.
(Juliet doesn't really mean it;
she just said what he wanted
to hear.)
Juliet told only Romeo that she
loved him.
(Romeo has no competition,
at least so far.)
Juliet told Romeo only that she
loved him.
(Yes, but that’s all)
Juliet told Romeo that only she
loved him.
(Juliet tells Romeo that no
one else
loves him.)
Juliet told Romeo that she only
loved him.
(And love may not be not enough…)
Juliet told Romeo that she loved
only
him.
(He's got the girl!)
4. Prepare
Make it look good follow formatting
rules:
APA or MLA
(Rocque 25)
(Rocque, 25)
Term papers are
due today!
My typewriter broke, so I had to do my term
paper on the Etch A Sketch®
Documentation or attribution,
in the form of a footnote or
parenthetical citation, is
required for:
• Direct quotes
• Paraphrases (indirect
quotes)
• Summaries wholly
concerning original material
Handout
online
Plagiarism, from the Latin for
“kidnapper,” is the “false assumption
of authorship: the wrongful act of
[kidnapping] the product of another
person’s mind” and presenting it as
yours.”
brackets when you change the quote
Paraphrase plus quote:
Because it provides both
organization and a summary,
“ [a] well-constructed thesis
can write your paper for you,”
asserts Rocque, a selfproclaimed expert.
Direct quote:
“A well-constructed thesis
can write your paper for
you,” Rocque insisted.
Direct quote:
“A well-constructed thesis,”
Rocque believes, “can write
your paper for you.”
Paraphrase plus quote:
Some writers feel that a “ wellconstructed thesis” will give a
student a good start and help
outline the paper (Rocque, 2005).
5. Proof
 Read it aloud
(or ask someone to)
 Read for trouble
 Read backwards
Watch especially for
the need to
 clarify or
 add more information.