For Students
This page provides resources and handouts for student writers, as well as a guide on using Penji, our tutor booking and scheduling app.
Rhetorical Analysis of a Writing Assignment | This chart will help you develop your rhetorical understanding of your writing assignment. Who are you writing for? How will you build trust? What are the genre requirements? Use this chart to guide you!
Writing and Researching a Literature Review | Writing is social! This handout will help you see your way through organizing and writing a literature review so that you may successfully navigate, understand, and join in a specific “academic conversation” happening within your discipline or field.
Crafting a “Working” Thesis Statement | This handout will help you get started on a thesis statement to guide your research and writing. Don’t let thesis writing scare you and don’t skip this part of the process! Thesis statements are a great way to help you stay grounded and focused, though they also can (and likely will!) change throughout the process.
POP: Provisional Outlining with Post-Its | This tactile activity will lead you through generating and organizing your ideas. Use post-it notes to experiment with different organizational styles before you begin writing!
They Say, I Say: A Toolkit for Integrating Sources | This handout helps you balance what researchers and your research sources say alongside what YOU have to say about the research in the ways your professors expect to see in your writing. It’s from a great book about “the [rhetorical] moves that matter” in college-level writing. We highly recommend it!
The Student Writing & Language Center (as well as the Student Academic Support Center) use the app Penji for all tutoring visits. The PDF below provides step-by-step information and screenshots to demonstrate using Penji.