Writing Center

Online Writing Resources

Writing Center Websites

These are well known websites run by two of the best Writing Centers in the country. They contain a wealth of information, including handouts on the writing process, ESL, and guides for citation and grammar.

• Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL)
  
• The Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  

Reference

• Mt.SAC Library Website
  The Mt.SAC library website includes access to the library catalog, databases for articles, and access to appropriate websites for academic research.  In particular, check out the guide to evaluating websites for academic credibility.
• Encyclopedia Britannica
  
• Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary
  
  

Bibliographic Citation Guides

Please note that “style” in this context refers to styles or systems of documentation, not to individual writing styles.

• MLA Style Guide
  The Modern Language Association (MLA) does not publish their style guide on the Web, but the Online Writing Lab at Purdue offers an excellent guide to MLA style. This style is used mostly by Literature and Language departments and sometimes by other disciplines in the Humanities, including art history.
  
• APA Style Guide
  Like the MLA, the APA (the American Psychological Association) has not yet joined the 21st century and refuses to give web access to their style guide rules. However, once again, the Online Writing Lab at Purdue is there to help out hard-pressed students and researchers with their excellent and authoritative guide to APA style. This style is used most often in the social sciences, which includes sociology and psychology.
  
• University of Chicago Style Guide
  The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Writing Center offers the best free guide to Chicago/Turabian style online.  This style is most often used in the writing of history.

CSE (Council of Science Editors)

• Documentation Websites Documenting Sources
  Diana Hacker offers a clear explanation of the two reference systems (name-year and citation-sequence systems) used in CSE style citation in this website. The website offers numerous examples of in-text and reference list examples. What students may find particularly helpful on this website is the sample CSE style essay.
• CSE Documentation (formerly CBE)
  ACC’s website also offers thorough explanations of the two reference systems (name-year and citation-sequence systems) used in CSE style citation. The organization of the site offers particularly clear differentiations between the reference systems, as well as in-text and reference list examples. Students can also download and print handouts from this site for help with CSE style citation.