This handbook collects resources that will help students become better college writers—from understanding what is expected of them, to improving their writing through revision, to where to find additional help on campus. Part I describes Queens College’s expectations for college writers and Part II includes handouts and exercises that might form the basis of the College Writing courses that students will experience.
This guide, originally prepared for faculty and graduate students teaching at Princeton, is a valuable resource for teachers at all institutions seeking ideas for teaching with writing. The handbook includes information and suggestions for the writing workshop, sequencing assignments, crafting assignments, commenting on student writing, grading papers, cultivating academic integrity, teaching with writing in science and engineering, and developing a language for describing writing.
Elements of the Essay
- Elements of the Academic Essay / Gordon Harvey
- Introducing Harvey's "Elements" / Jason Tougaw
- Keeping Your Essay Cohesive: The Spine / Jason Tougaw
- Essay Sketch and one example / Jason Tougaw
- Pulling Together the 5 Ss / Steve Fabian
Phases of the Writing Process
- A Word on Overcoming Writer's Block / Roslyn Ko
- Turning Topic Outlines into Point Outlines / Judith Swan
- Draft Workshop / Jason Tougaw
- Writing vs. Editing / Carol Rigolot
Thesis and Motive
- Writing with Purpose: Establishing Motive / Jacob Kramer
- Motivating Moves / Kerry Walk (PDF, 47Kb)
- Testing an Argument / Judy Swan
- The Rhythm of an Argument / Gita Trelease
- Error and What to Do About It / Gloria Fisk
Style, Mechanics, and Grammar
Working with Sources
- Integrating Sources & Indicating Stance / Jason Tougaw
- Periodical Exercise / Alexandra deLuise
- Learning to Use Information Resources Effectively / Dean Savage
- Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing / Purdue OWL
- Incorporating Sources / Alfred E. Guy, Jr. [PDF]
Activities for Evaluating Databases and Web Resources
- Website Evaluation Exercise
- Database Evaluation
- LexisNexis Exercise
- Understanding Scholarly Conversations with Wikipedia / Leila Walker
- Learning Strategies for Successful Research through Wikipedia / Leila Walker
Academic Integrity and Preventing Plagiarism
Arts and Humanities
- Essay Checklist (for Arts/Humanities/Social Sciences) (PDF, 61Kb)
- Research Paper Guide (written in Spanish)/ Barbara Simerka
- Reading Films Critically / Andrea Walsh
Math and the Natural Sciences
- An alternative Essay Checklist for Math/Natural Sciences/ Jason Tougaw (PDF, 67Kb)
- Guidelines for Peer Review in Math / Robert Cowen
- Writing Laboratory Reports / Ray Johnson
- Exercise on Levels of Measurement, Conceptualization and Operationalization / Dean Savage
- Math 213W Writer's Manual / Robert Cowen
Social Sciences
We are collecting lesson plans of all writing topics and across all disciplines. If you'd like to share a teaching activity with colleagues, fill in this template and submit it to: jason.tougaw@qc.cuny.edu.