This guide is intended to be a basic guide for writing and reading at the university level. If you do not find what you need, contact Rebecca Dowson at 778.782.4304 or Ask us by email or visit the Student Learning Commons (SLC).

The Student Learning Commons provides writing and learning support services across the three SFU campuses.  Services are provided through workshops, personal consultations, print and online resources, as well as through classroom collaborations with faculty and other instructors.

Writing Tools and Guides

The 4 Essentials
Open these 4 links and then minimize them to keep them in the background as you write your paper. By doing this you always have the writer's essential tools at hand.

• A Dictionary: Oxford English Dictionary (OED)- the best dictionary available to anyone!
• A Thesaurus: Roget's International Thesaurus or select English Dictionaries & Thesauruses in Oxford Reference Online
• If you are looking for a book The Oxford English Grammar (Bennett Library PE 1106 G74 1996) is an excellent source.
• A Writing Style Guide: In Canada, a good choice is the Industry Canada Style Guide for Writers and Editors. It contains the latest Canadian standards for punctuation, capitalization etc.

Choosing Your Topic

Choosing your topic can be the hardest part of writing an essay.

Cleveland State University offers a few pointers on how to choose an idea for your paper.
Try Brainstorming and Clustering to work through your ideas.  Check out Writing Essentials Online for more strategies.

Planning Your Paper

You may want to look at other examples of essays or writing guides before you start your paper. You can search the SFU Library Catalogue for books under Subject, the following three subject headings are very good 1) English language - Rhetoric 2) Exposition Rhetoric and 3) Report Writing.

The following books are very good:

• A brief guide to essay writing for students (Belzberg & Bennett Libraries LB 2369 S88 1996)
• Fit to print: the Canadian student's guide to essay writing (All Libraries LB 2369 B83 2004)
• Academic writing : writing and reading in the disciplines (Bennett & Fraser Libraries PE 1408 G54 2002)

The following websites are also excellent resources to use for planning your paper:
Writing a Research Paper (Outline) : This site from the University of Purdue is a very good source for all aspects of research paper writing. You may want to look beyond this Outline section.
Considering Structure & Organization:  This site from the Dartmouth Writing Program is an excellent overview of the various aspects of research paper writing.

Preparatory Reading and Evaluation of Sources

The Student Learning Commons Reading website has a comprhensive list of resources and websites on academic reading.
The Critically read and evaluate the sources section of the Purdue University site on Writing a Research Paper is highly informative.
Reading Skills For University from York University

You can also find some source books in the SFU Library. Use the subject search of the Library catalogue and try the following subject terms:

1) College readers 2) Developmental reading 3) Essays.

The following books are useful:

• The Harbrace reader for Canadians (Bennett Library PE 1417 H372 2001)
• Academic literacy : readings and strategies (Bennett & Fraser Libraries PE 1417 L48 2007)
• Writing arguments : a rhetoric with readings  (PE 1431 R33 2010)
• Read, research and write : academic skills for ESL students in higher education (Bennett & Fraser Libraries PE 1128 B6595 2009)

Different Types of Essays

There are many different types of essays. The following list is quite comprehensive.

Compare and Contrast Essay A guide from St. Cloud State University
Expository Essay This is just one page out of the University of Victoria's Writer's Guide
Argumentative Essay How to write a convincing argument from Roanne State University
Process Essay From St. Cloud State University
Reaction/Response Essay Another good St. Cloud site.
Narrative Essay How to tell a first person story from Roanne State University.
Writing About Fiction An excellent introduction to this subject from Purdue University's online writing lab.
Writing Literary Analysis There are some excellent samples of literary analysis on this Roanne University site.
The Literary Essa From the University of Victoria. Fairly basic.

Sentence and Paragraph Stuctures

Manuals on sentence and paragraph construction
Try the terms English language Paragraphs in the Subject section of the Library catalogue for titles such as:

• Exploring writing : paragraphs and essays (Fraser Library PE 1439 L36 2010)
• The writer's palette : developing paragraphs and essays (Bennett Library PE 1439 B76 2003)
• Along these lines : writing sentences and paragraphs (Fraser Library PE 1441 B53 2007)

Paragraph and Topic Sentences This is a very helpful guide from the University of Indiana
Writing Topic Sentences  Concise guide from the University of Ottawa.

Grammar and Punctuation

Don't be discouraged by grammar rules. It is never too late to pick up a new rule and improve your writing skills in this area. Here are a few good sites:

Grammar and Punctuation - University of Wisconsin at Madison. Includes handouts on common errors and how to proofread.
The Elements of Style: The classic text online.  A print version is also available in all SFU Libraries (PE 1408 S772 2000)
Guide to Grammar and Writing: Excellent and easy to use!
The Blue book of grammar and punctuation A highly reliable resource from grammar guru Jane Straus

Citing Your Sources - Style Guides

The list below provides you with a starting point when it comes to citing sources.. If you are not sure which style guide to use, please check with your department. Remember, if you are stuck, all of the Library reference desks at SFU carry copies of the style guides and the Librarians will help you with tricky citing situations.

About Plagiarism

SFU Library's Online Plagiarism Tutorial - takes 30 minutes.
The SFU Library's guide to Plagiarism is an excellent resource.
SFU's Code of Academic Honesty
The SFU Psychology Department webpage on Plagiarism
Avoiding Plagiarism: From Northwestern University

Editing Your Work

The Student Learning Commons "Self-help" Editing Resources website provides links to handouts and websites on all aspects of editing.
Proofreading Strategies: From Purdue University
General Strategies for Editing and Proofreading: This site has some very good pointers for checking over your work.

Other Writing Sites and Tutorials

• The OWL at Purdue - Online Writing Lab
• The Writing Center- University of Wisconsin at Madison - Check out "The Writer's Handbook"
• Advice on Academic Writing - Writing at the University of Toronto
• The Writing Centre - University of Toronto Web Resources
• Writing Handouts - University of Illinois at Springfield
• Materials for Students - Dartmouth Writing Program
• Argument - for academic essays
• Guide to Grammar and Writing - Capital Community College
• Common Errors in English - P. Brians, Washington State University