The writing process starts as soon as you get your assignment. To help you along, here are some of the SLC's favourite resources: 

Overview sites

• Top 10 Things to Know About University Writing: a Prezi overview – Student Learning Commons
• Critical Thinking for Critical Writing: critical thinkers examine not only what a text says, but also how the text portrays the subject matter – Student Learning Commons
• Academic Writing:  The Basics  (Susan Barber, Faculty of Education, SFU) - Produced with first-semester students in mind, this video takes you through the steps of writing a research paper.
• Academic Writing: Advanced Research and Writing Skills (Susan Barber, Faculty of Education, SFU) - This video expands on the writing process articulated in the "Academic Writing: The Basics" video and, in particular, presents detailed research strategies.
• Stages of the Writing Process: covers many stages, from developing a thesis statement to editing your paper – University of Wisconsin at Madison
• The Write Site: online support for developing academic and professional writing skills – University of Sydney, Australia

Choosing and focusing a topic

• Brainstorming - The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
• Invention: the process of gathering and generating ideas  – Cleveland State University Writing Center 
• What is Prewriting? - Douglas College 
• Invention: Coming Up With Your Topic: Dartmouth University Writing Program
• Subject to Thesis: University of Illinois at Springfield
• Narrowing a Topic Idea - USC Libraries research guide 

Also, part of staying focused is making sure your arguments are sound and well organized, so it's essential to review your draft for problems with argumentation. These sites are recommended by our writing/learning peers!

• Question Questions - From: Becoming a Critic of Your Thinking by Dr. Linda Elder and Dr. Richard Paul
• Writing: Considering Structure & Organization – Dartmouth University Writing Program
• Critical Writing Skills - writeonline.ca 
• Arguments - Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

Crafting thesis statements

• Writing thesis statements
• Developing a Thesis Statement - Thompson Rivers University 
• How to Write a Thesis Statement - Indiana University Writing Tutorial Services
• The Thesis Statement - Douglas College 

Connecting paragraphs and sentences 

• Cohesion: "the intangible glue that holds paragraphs together" – Clarkson University
• Transitions: how to make logical connections between sentences, paragraphs, and sections of a paper – University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill
• Making Connections: Choosing Transition Words – Student Learning Commons

Revising for style and editing for correctness

• Editing Resources: "Self-Help" Editing page – Student Learning Commons
• Tell Us Who Said It: incorporating sources into your paper – Student Learning Commons

Any suggestions? Please contact the SLC Writing Services Coordinator.