Welcome to the College Writing Handbook

          At some point in your education, maybe back in high school, you might have heard that a  paper should be organized in three sections: 1) tell 'em what you're going to say, 2) say it and 3) tell 'em what you said. While that is true in the broadest sense, there are hard-and-fast rules and other, more general guidelines that govern academic writing. The College Writing Handbook offers guidance that will help you get your papers to reach those higher standards that are expected in academia.
         The handbook is organized in three sections: Grammar and usage, paper organization and documentation style. Each are in the form of pages on the right side of this site.
         Proper grammar, punctuation, usage and spelling are important elements of clear and effective writing. Some of the rules can be difficult to understand without advanced degrees, which can cause some people to become frustrated and skip the rules in favor of whatever sounds or looks right to them. Bad idea. Grammar, punctuation, usage and spelling that look or sound about right can be downright wrong and even more importantly, change the meaning of what was written. This can cost you your credibility and the respect of the reader.
          Volumes upon thick, tedious, exhaustive volumes have been written to elucidate the mechanics of American English. This handbook is not one of those. Here, you will find some answers to basic grammar and punctuation obstacles, usage issues and spelling conundrums that cause the  most problems for many people. Mastering these few will help you get on your way toward writing correctly and clearly, giving clarity to your paper.
           Academic papers can take many different forms. Your assignments, for example, could be to write a book review, a response to a question, an introduction and transcript of an interview or an article based on research. This handbook focuses on the paper organization of a research article, which includes the introduction, literature review, discussion, conclusion and references. Even if you are not  required to write such an in-depth paper, you likely will read articles published in academic journals that will mimic this organization. Understanding what constitutes each section will help you better comprehend what you are reading and researching.
           You will be required to cite the journal articles and other information you include in your paper. Doing so helps you avoid plagiarism while showing the reader you used the most informed, most current and most respected sources. There are three common documentation styles: American Psychological Association, or APA; Chicago Manual of Style, or CMS; and Modern Language Association, or MLA. Thick, tedious and exhaustive volumes are written about these too, but here you will find some of the more frequently used citation styles of each. Your professor likely will require one of the three.
          At some point, your work might call for more information than what is included in the College Writing Handbook. The further reading page leads you to publications that were used to compile the handbook and others that you might find helpful.