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The Writing and Speaking Center

A place where writers and speakers come together to talk about the craft of communication

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    • Handouts and Tips
Make an Appointment

Contact Us

Writing and Speaking Center
Operating Online-Only for Fall 2020
apheatwole@smcm.edu

The Writing and Speaking Center / Handouts and Tips

Handouts and Tips

 

About Tutoring
  • Scheduling Instructions Handout
  • Ideas for Using a Tutorial Handout
  • Examples of What Tutors Can and Cannot Do
  • What to Expect in Your Tutorial
Quick Ways to Incorporate Revision
We often hear from faculty who want to incorporate opportunities for revision in their assignments but have difficulty carving out the time for it. Here is a list of relatively quick ways to incorporate revision into assignments:

  • Collect only students’ intros or thesis statements and have them revise before continuing the paper.
  • Consider collecting rough drafts earlier but only requiring the first page or two to be written.
  • Have students revise a representative paragraph or section of a longer draft.
  • Look at representative student samples as a class and have students discuss revision options. (Make sure to let students know you will be pulling from their drafts for this activity.)
  • Use representative student samples (with permission) from past classes and discuss revision options as a class.
  • Make revisions of full drafts optional.
Assignment Design
  • Assignment Revision Checklist
  • How to Revise Writing Assignments
Rhetorical Awareness
  • Rhetorical Triangle
  • Rhetorical Triangle Practice Activity
  • Audience and Speaking to the Reader
  • How to Teach Rhetorical Awareness
Types of Writing
  • Why and How to Summarize
  • Descriptive Writing
  • Essentials of Argument
  • Persuasive Writing Techniques
Thesis Statements, Introductions, Paragraphs, and Conclusions
  • The Thesis Statement
  • Working Thesis Planning Guide
  • Sample Types of Introductions
  • Paragraph Unity, Coherence and Development
  • Conclusions
  • Guidelines for Introductions
Sentence-Level Issues
  • 300 Ways to say “Said”
  • Comma Uses
  • Combining Independent Clauses
  • Subordination Methods
  • Semicolon and Colon
Editing and Transitioning
  • Transition Words and Phrases
  • Editing Strategies
  • Reducing Wordiness Exercises
Designing and Conducting In-Class Writing Workshops
  • How to Design and Conduct In-Class Writing Workshops
Cohesion and Coherence
  • Maintaining Cohesion and Coherence
  • Cohesion and Coherence Practice
  • Cohesion and Coherence Group Work
  • Cohesion and Coherence Single Paragraph Peer Review
Topic Sentences
  • Topic Sentences Handout
  • Topic Sentence Practice Activity,
  • Topic Sentence Checklist
Descriptive Outlining
  • Descriptive Outlining Handout and Sample
  • Descriptive Outline Worksheet
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