ENG121: College Writing I

This course focuses on student writing. It emphasizes reading and analytical thinking and introduces research and oral
communication skills. Upon completion of this course, students should be able to prepare well-constructed process, informative, and descriptive essays, and informal reports.

Reading and Analytical Thinking

Critically Analyzing Information Sources
Initial appraisal and content analysis from Cornell University

Critical Reading: A Guide
Guide for analyzing poetry and fiction from Brock University

Literary Terms
Common terms used when talking and writing about literature from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue

Oral Communication Skills

Advanced Public Speaking Institute
Tips, techniques, articles, and other public speaking resources

Improve Your Communication Skills
Strategies shared by communication experts and CEOs at Inc.com

Improve Your Communication Skills
Articles from Mind Tools

Process, Informative, and Descriptive Essays

Informative Essays
Clues for college writers from Metropolitan State University

LEO: Descriptive Essays
Things to consider and sample paragraphs from St. Cloud State University

LEO: Writing a Process Essay
What to consider when writing this type of essay from St. Cloud State University

MSU Writing Center
Article on the information essay from Montana State University

Writing Descriptions
From the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue

Citation and Documentation

Citing Electronic Sources
Guide to citing online sources from Bedford/St. Martin's Publishing

DocsCite
Step-by-step guide to citing government publications from Arizona State University

Guide for Citing Resources - MLA Style
Brief handout with examples of how to cite specific sources from Ohio State University (PDF)

MLA Formatting and Style Guide
Resources from the OWL at Purdue

MLA Style FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions about MLA style from MLA.org

Modern Language Assocication (MLA)
Definition of MLA Style and professional resources

Research

Evaluating Internet Resources
Checklist from the University Libraries at the University of Albany

Internet Public Library
A collection of carefully selected web resources managed by Drexel University's College of Information Science and Technology

LRC101: Learning Resource Center
Self-paced tutorial that discusses each step of the research process and the research resources available to Westwood students (login to eCollege; course is listed under Special Courses)

Librarians' Internet Index
Index of websites that have been evaluated by librarians

The Seven Steps of the Research Process
Develop a strategy for finding information from Cornell University

Essays

Essay Info
Essay writing center with basic information, writing guides, and essay types

The OWL at Purdue
Resources on the writing process, academic writing, and research and citation

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Includes resources on informal, thesis/support, argumentative, and exploratory essays

Informal Reports

AskOxford
Information on writing reports

The OWL at Purdue
General business communication resources

Additional Sites of Interest

Bartleby.com
Literature available online

Classical Literature
MIT online collection

Dakota State University Writing Lab
Online writing lab

The History Channel
Video collection of great speeches

Literary Criticism
Directory of resources from the Internet Public Library

The OWL at Purdue
Online writing lab from Purdue University

Reference Resources
General reference resources, thesauri, quotations, and English usage guides from Bartleby.com

UsingEnglish.com
Large collection of ESL (English as a Second Language) tools and resources

Webgrammar
Free tips on references, grammar, editing, spelling, and more

WordWizard
Word origins, use of phrases, electronic text, and other useful English resources