Resources
Grammarly Premium
Concordia students have free access to Grammarly Premium. Follow these steps to activate your account.
- Go to grammarly.com/enterprise/signin, select Sign in with Google, and enter your Eagles email address.
- Check your inbox for a confirmation email and follow the link to verify your account.
I didn’t receive the confirmation email
- Check your spam folder and any email filters you have set up, to make sure the message isn’t being directed away from your inbox.
- If you still cannot find it, add the following addresses to your contact list and request a new confirmation email:
Resources for Writers
Guides, handouts, and videos to support you at every stage of the writing process — from your first idea to your final draft.
Videos About Our Services
- Writing Studio 101 — An explanation of our services for on-campus writers
- OWL 101 — An explanation of our services for graduate and online writers
- How to use feedback after a writing appointment
- Working on long-term projects like capstones and dissertations
Study Snacks
Five-minute videos on study and writing strategies to help you work smarter, not harder. New videos are added every month.
- Setting Up Your Study Space — Focus isn’t just about mindset. Leverage your environment for success.
- Retrieval Practice — Learn and retain information faster and more effectively.
- Getting Started with Grammarly — Set up your free premium account through the Writing Studio.
Coming Up with an Idea for a Paper
- Interpreting the Assignment (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Techniques for Brainstorming Ideas (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Refining a Research Topic (Golden Gate University)
Finding Reputable Sources
- Book a Concordia University Irvine Librarian
- How to Gather and Use Evidence (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- How to Read Scholarly Articles (IU Bloomington)
Outlining a Paper
- Outlines Demo (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Outlines Explained (UC Berkeley)
- Additional Outlining Tips (Harvard University)
Introductions & Thesis Statements
- How to Write a Strong Introduction (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- How to Write a Thesis Statement (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Thesis Statement Tips and Examples (Purdue OWL)
Body Paragraphs & Conclusions
- Paragraphing Basics (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Integrating Sources into Paragraphs (Miami University)
- How to Write an Effective Conclusion (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Revising & Restructuring a Draft
- Reorganizing Paragraphs (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Adding Transitions (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Conciseness (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Varying Sentence Patterns (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Active and Passive Voice (Purdue OWL)
- Improving Word Choice (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Proofreading & Polishing a Draft
- 12 Common Errors: An Editing Checklist (UW Madison)
- Grammarly Premium — Free online proofreading for Concordia students
Citing Sources
- MLA Style Guide (Purdue OWL)
- MLA Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)
- APA Style Guide (APAstyle.org)
- APA Sample Paper (APAstyle.org)
- Chicago (CMS) Style Guide (Purdue OWL)
- Chicago (CMS) Sample Paper (Purdue OWL)
- Citing the Bible (Grove City College)
Avoiding Plagiarism
- What is Plagiarism? (University of Oxford)
- Plagiarism Overview and How to Avoid It (Purdue OWL)
Support for Specific Assignments
- Abstracts (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Annotated Bibliographies (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Book Reviews (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Business Letters (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Comparing and Contrasting (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Essay Exams (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Group Writing Assignments (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- History Papers (Harvard College)
- Literary Analysis (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Literature Reviews (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Poetry Explications (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Scientific Reports (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Speeches (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Tips for Writing in Different Disciplines
- Communication Studies (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Theater and Drama (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- History (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Literature (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Philosophy (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Sciences (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Sociology (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Support for Graduate Students
Resources for graduate-level writing, research, and thesis or dissertation work — plus written feedback on your papers through the Online Writing Lab.
The Online Writing Lab (OWL)
All current Concordia graduate students can submit papers to the Online Writing Lab and receive written feedback by email from a graduate-level writing consultant.
OWL consultants address global concerns such as the clarity of your ideas, organization, structure, format, and style. They do not proofread or line-edit, but they will point out patterns of grammatical or stylistic errors and offer suggestions for improvement.
To upload your paper:
- Register and log in to the online scheduling system.
- Open the dropdown menu at the top of the calendar and select OWL Email Submissions.
- Select an open appointment time by clicking a white box, then fill out the appointment form.
- Once the form is complete, upload your paper.
- You will receive feedback by email within two business days of your scheduled submission time.
Tips for Writing at the Graduate Level
- Six Tips for Improving Your Writing in Graduate School — Steps to ensure your writing is on point for graduate-level coursework.
- Writing with a Scholarly Voice (Walden University) — Learn about the “writing temptations” that hinder a scholarly tone, along with tips for improvement.
- A Writing Routine — Practical steps to build a consistent writing routine, relieve stress, and produce stronger writing.
- Writing Anxiety (UNC-Chapel Hill) — Writer’s block is situational, not psychological. This handout suggests ways to increase your confidence as a writer and thinker.
Graduate-Level Research
- Book a Concordia University Irvine Librarian — Meet online or in person for help exploring, selecting, and evaluating resources for any writing project.
- Writing Research Questions (Research Rundowns)
- Qualitative Research Methods (Research Rundowns)
- Quantitative Research Methods (Research Rundowns)
- Mixed Methods Research (Research Rundowns)
- Using Statistics (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Using Tables, Figures, and Charts (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper (USC Library) — Develop research questions and organize the sections of a research report, from abstract to methodology.
- Literature Reviews (UNC-Chapel Hill) — The form and construction of literature reviews in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
Thesis and Dissertation Support
The best way to master an unfamiliar genre of writing is by reading examples of it. As you write your thesis or dissertation, consider exploring work by former Concordia students as models for your own.
Multilingual and ESL Writers
- U.S. Higher Education: A Cultural Introduction (Purdue OWL)
- Tips for Writing in North American Colleges (Purdue OWL)
- Plagiarism and ESL Writers: An Overview (Purdue OWL)
- Understanding Writing Assignments (Purdue OWL)
Resources for Writing Consultants
Blog
- PeerCentered: A space for peer writing tutors/consultants to blog with their colleagues from around the world. Bloggers share their ideas, experiences, and insights.
Online Journal
- Praxis: Articles written by tutors and directors concerning issues such as training, consulting strategies, and professional development.
- WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship: WLN is an open-access peer-reviewed journal, published on the WAC Clearinghouse and supported by Colorado State University.
- Young Scholars in Writing: A resource for students engaged in undergraduate research. It has journal articles, a blog, and directions for how to submit.
Support for Faculty
The Writing Studio and Online Writing Lab assist undergraduate and graduate writers across the curriculum with free, one-to-one conferences. We help students understand assignments, develop ideas, support arguments and claims, cite sources, and revise papers.
Information for Your Syllabus
Feel free to copy the following text into your syllabus:
At the Writing Studio, located on the main floor of the library, writing consultants are available to work one-on-one with you at any stage of your writing process and with any kind of writing you are creating. Whether you need help understanding an assignment, brainstorming ideas, revising a draft, or developing editing strategies, Writing Studio consultants are a valuable resource. Appointments can be reserved up to six days in advance via their online scheduling program, WCOnline. Walk-in appointments are welcome if a consultant doesn’t already have an appointment with someone else. Students in online courses can also use the Online Writing Lab (OWL). Visit the Writing Studio website to make your appointment and to find more information about the Writing Studio and its resources.
Referring Students
We hope you encourage all students to visit the Writing Studio. If you require a student to seek support, please encourage them to consider us a writing resource rather than a remedial lab. Students who feel they are being sent to the Writing Studio because they are “bad” writers who need to “fix” their problems often come to us unwillingly, which makes our goal of building effective, confident writers harder to achieve.
If you need confirmation that a student has visited, ask the student to request that we send you an email confirmation following the session.
Classroom Visits and Workshops
To introduce your students to the Writing Studio or the Online Writing Lab, we offer a brief 10–15 minute presentation by one of our staff members. Information is also available on our Prezi presentations, Writing Studio 101 and OWL 101.
To schedule a visit, email the Writing Studio Director or the OWL Director with your name, course title and time, class location, number of students, and your first and second choices for scheduling. Please wait for confirmation while we make every effort to accommodate your request.
We also offer a workshop series in the Writing Studio during the Fall and Spring semesters. If you would like us to deliver one of our workshops in your classroom, send a request to the Writing Studio Director or the OWL Director. The course instructor must be present for the workshop, and we encourage instructors to discuss how the workshop directly applies to students’ assignments.
What Happens in a Writing Studio Session
Consultants work first on higher-order concerns — thesis, argumentation, organization, paragraph development — and then move toward lower-order concerns such as punctuation, grammar, spelling, and citation.
Will your student walk away with a perfect paper? No. But if the student revises according to what was covered in the session, the paper will be better and the student will have learned something in the process. Becoming a strong writer happens over time and with practice. We aim to help students become effective, confident writers who can assess their own work — so they turn in better papers all the time, rather than one good paper that someone else “fixed.”
Grammar consultations: Writers and faculty can request a session focused primarily on grammar. In that case, the consultant reverses the usual order, addressing lower-order concerns first and pointing out content issues as needed.
Why Include Writing in My Courses?
Research has shown that writing is a highly effective mode of learning across all disciplines. It can help your students:
- Engage more deeply with course material
- Think critically and solve complex, discipline-specific problems
- Meet learning outcomes and retain course content
- Seek advice and feedback about their learning
- Become more proficient thinkers and communicators in their future careers
Meaningful writing assignments also help you as the instructor:
- Gauge how well your students are grasping course material
- Have livelier and more thoughtful class discussions
- Get to know your students better
Supporting research:
- Drabick, D.A.G., Weisberg, R., Paul, L., & Bubier, J.L. (2007). Keeping it short and sweet: Brief, ungraded writing assignments facilitate learning. Teaching of Psychology, 34(3), 172–176.
- Hynd, C., Holschuh, J.P., & Hubbard, B.P. (2004). Thinking like a historian: College students’ reading of multiple historical documents. Journal of Literacy Research, 36(2), 141–176.
- Patterson, L.M. & Slinger-Friedman, V. (2012). Writing in undergraduate geography classes: Faculty challenges and rewards. Journal of Geography, 111(5), 184–193.
- Quitadamo, L.J., & Kurtz, M.J. (2007). Learning to improve: Using writing to increase critical thinking performance in general education biology. CBE — Life Sciences Education, 6, 140–154.
- Reynolds, J.A., Thaiss, C., Katkin, W., & Thompson, B.J., Jr. (2012). Writing-to-learn in undergraduate science education: A community-based, conceptually driven approach. CBE — Life Sciences Education, 11, 17–25.
Writing Activities & Assignment Ideas
- Integrating Writing into Any Course: A Starting Point (WAC Clearinghouse)
- What Makes a Good Writing Assignment? (WAC Clearinghouse)
- Not Your Usual 3-to-5 Page Paper (WAC Clearinghouse)
- Informal, In-Class Writing Activities (University of Minnesota)
- Aligning Assignments with Learning Goals (DePaul Teaching Commons)
- Cultivating Reflection and Metacognition (University of Michigan)
- Sequencing and Scaffolding Assignments (University of Michigan)
Grading & Responding to Student Writing
- Giving Meaningful Feedback (University of Montana)
- John Bean’s Hierarchy Chart for Responding to Student Writing (DePaul University)
- Writing Comments on Students’ Papers (from Bean’s Engaging Ideas)
- Managing the Paper Load (George Mason University)
- Dealing with Grammar (WAC Clearinghouse)
- Preventing Plagiarism (WAC Clearinghouse)
- Using Peer Review to Improve Student Writing (University of Michigan)
- Making One-on-One Conferences Efficient (University of Wisconsin)
- In-Class Discussions of Student Writing (University of Wisconsin)
- Concordia University Irvine Written Communication Rubric — Adjust the language as needed to fit specific assignments.
Motivating Students to Read, Write & Revise
- Motivating Students to Read and Write in All Disciplines (University of Michigan)
- Motivating Students to Grow as Writers (University of Wisconsin)
- Why Learning to Write in College Is Difficult (University of Wisconsin)
- Helping Your Students Improve Their Writing and Their Learning (University of Wisconsin)
- Techniques to Encourage Revision (WAC Clearinghouse)
- Tutorials: Working with Student Writers (WAC Clearinghouse)
Working with Multilingual Writers
- Providing Feedback and Grades to Second Language Students (University of Michigan)
- Working with Multilingual Student Writers: A Faculty Guide (Purdue Writing Lab)
What Is Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC)?
According to the Statement of WAC Principles and Practices, endorsed by the International Network of WAC Programs (INWAC):
WAC refers to the notion that writing should be an integral part of the learning process throughout a student’s education, not merely in required writing courses but across the entire curriculum. Further, it is based on the premise that writing is highly situated and tied to a field’s discourse and ways of knowing, and therefore writing in the disciplines (WID) is most effectively guided by those with expertise in that discipline. WAC also recognizes that students come to the classroom with a wide range of literacy, linguistic, technological, and educational experiences, but that all students can learn to become more proficient writers.
WAC can be transformative for learning, teaching, and research. For students, it promotes engaged learning, critical thinking, and greater facility with written communication across rhetorical situations. For teachers, it promotes thoughtful pedagogy and curriculum design, as well as community among faculty that transcends disciplinary boundaries. For researchers, it promotes cross-disciplinary scholarship on teaching and learning.
Workshops
We can bring any of the workshops below into the classroom. In addition, faculty may opt to show one of the recordings in class or assign students to watch a workshop video. We also create custom workshops for courses, upon request from faculty. Workshops may be offered by coming to the classroom in person or via Zoom. To request a custom workshop for your class, contact Zoe Litzenberg, Writing Studio Director, Julie Stiegemeyer, OWL Director.
Past Workshops
Recordings of our previous workshops are available to watch any time.
- Notes That Work — Notes can be a powerful learning tool if you know how to do them well. Learn how to make your notes work for you. Watch recording
- Grammarly Tips and Tricks — Enroll in Grammarly Premium for free and learn about the best features our campus provides to help you as you work. Watch recording
- Revising Like a Pro — So you’ve finished your first draft. Now what? Learn the secrets of revising your way to a strong, cohesive final draft. Watch recording
- Building Better Paragraphs — Paragraphs are the building blocks of essays. Are yours strong enough to get your essay where it needs to go? Watch recording
- Active Learning — Do lectures and readings go in one ear and out the other? Learn how to make learning stick. Watch recording
- Time Management — Great work starts with a great approach. Learn the secrets to making time work for you. Watch recording
- The Perfect Final Paper — Inside secrets to writing successful term papers and final projects. Watch recording
- Using Sources Well — Get the most out of research, from first glance to final draft — whether you’re working with quotes, paraphrases, summaries, or a combination of all three. Watch recording
- AI, Writing, and You — Does generative AI eliminate the need for writing consultants, or writing altogether? Learn what AI can do for you, what it can’t, and how it may change your writing process. Watch recording
- What Is Academic Writing? — Scholarly tones, lengthy papers and discussions: how does academic writing distinguish itself from other kinds, and how can you navigate the difference in your own work? Watch recording
- APA Basics — From big picture to parentheses and period placement, learn how to wrangle those APA rules and make them work for you. Watch recording
- Writing Studio 101 — Investigate the what, where, when, why, and how of a great writing consultation, both at the Studio and through the OWL. Watch recording
- Blank Screen Blues — Stuck on page one? Learn three brainstorming strategies to push through writer’s block. Watch recording
- Paragraphs That Flow — How do you avoid weak, choppy paragraphs? Hear the Writing Studio’s advice. Watch recording
- APA Basics — Fumbling your APA formatting? The Writing Studio has your back. Watch recording
- Cookies and Quotes: Integrating Evidence — Tips on incorporating research and analysis into your paper. It’s more like Oreos than you ever thought. Watch recording
- MLA Basics — Boost your formatting confidence by mastering the basic principles of MLA. Watch recording
- Plagiarism: Avoiding Intellectual Theft — Stealing words and ideas is just as bad (and illegal) as any other kind of theft. Learn what plagiarism looks like and how to avoid it. Watch recording
- Acing Your Study Plan: Tools for Academic Success — Harness a few simple study tools to improve your academic performance. Watch recording
- 30-Minute Thesis — What’s a thesis? Why do you need one? How do you write one? We’ll tell you. Watch recording
- First Impressions: Mastering the Introduction — Introductions have a lot in common with job interviews and first dates. Learn how to impress your reader from the start. Watch recording
- Word Diet — Trim the fat from your writing with our tips for clear communication. Watch recording
- So What: Mastering the Conclusion — How do you get someone to care about what you’ve written? The answer is the conclusion. Watch recording
- Building Better Paragraphs — Avoid willy-nilly organization with our M.E.A.L. plan for paragraphs. Watch recording
- Personal Statements & Statements of Purpose — Learn how to set your grad school application apart from the rest. Watch recording
Get in Touch
Questions? We are happy to help.
University Writing Support
Writing Studio is located on the top floor of the Schroeder Library and Learning Center (CUI campus).
Zoe Litzenberg | Director, Writing Studio and Tutoring Services
[email protected]
Julie Stiegemeyer | Director, Online Writing Lab (OWL)
[email protected]