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Support For Graduate Students

Tips for Writing at the Graduate Level

  • Six Tips for Improving Your Writing in Graduate School by Joanna Hughes
    Time to sharpen up your writing skills! Following these six steps will help ensure that your writing is on point for graduate-level coursework.
  • Writing with a Scholarly Voice from Walden University
    Learn about “writing temptations” that hinder a scholarly tone along with tips for improvement.
  • A Writing Routine from Peg Boyle Single
    Feeling overwhelmed with all your writing assignments and deadlines? A consistent writing routine using the practical steps outlined in this article may help relieve stress and lead to stronger writing.
  • Writing Anxiety from UNC-Chapel Hill
    Writer’s block and other writing-related anxiety are situational – not psychological. People aren’t born anxious writers; rather, they become anxious or blocked through negative or difficult experiences with writing. This handout suggests ways to increase your confidence as a writer and thinker.

Graduate-Level Research

ESL Writers

Thesis and Dissertation Support

Sample Theses and Dissertations

Writers agree that the best way to master an unfamiliar genre of writing is by reading examples of works within that genre. As you write your thesis or dissertation, consider exploring theses and dissertations written by former CUI students to use as models for your own work. Library's Thesis/Dissertation archive

The Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Looking for feedback on your writing? All current CUI graduate students are eligible to submit papers to our Online Writing Lab (OWL) and receive written feedback via email from one of our graduate-level writing consultants.

OWL consultants will address global concerns in your papers, such as the clarity of your ideas, organization, structure, format, and style. Although our consultants will not proofread or line-edit your work, they will point out patterns of grammatical or stylistic errors and offer suggestions for improvement.

Uploading your paper to the OWL is easy:

  • Register and log in to our online scheduling system.
  • Make sure you are viewing the “OWL Email Submissions” schedule by clicking the dropdown menu at the top of the calendar and selecting “OWL Email Submissions.”
  • To upload your paper, select an open “appointment” time by clicking on a white
    box and filling out the appointment form.
  • Once the form is filled out, you will be able to upload your paper.
  • You will receive feedback via email within two business days of your scheduled
    submission day and time.

Upload a paper now!

    Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper (USC Library) This guide is designed to help students develop thoughtful research questions and organize various sections of research reports (Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, etc.). It also provides information about citing sources and proofreading your work.

    Literature Reviews (UNC-Chapel Hill) This resource explains what literature reviews are and offers insights into the form and construction of literature reviews in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

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