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University Academic Support

Online Writing Resource Center-Overview

The Online Writing Resource Center (OWRC) at Tiffin University provides a variety of writing resources and instructional materials for use by Tiffin University students, faculty, staff and the greater community. The OWRC is not a substitute for in person instruction or writing assistance but is intended to provide general information to improve writing confidence and quality. If you need more detailed assistance, please visit our Tutoring page to schedule a Writing Consultation.

To assist with navigation the OWRC is divided into four basic sections:

  • Basic Writing: Covering parts of speech, grammar, mechanics, punctuation, sentence structure, basic writing techniques.
  • General Writing: Reviews patterns of development, college level writing assignments, audience and purpose.
  • Research & Citation: Examines a variety of research related topics, source evaluation, and citation.
  • Graduate Writing: Dedicated to writing at the graduate level, completion of a thesis or dissertation. 

To find more information on a specific topic, select the section from the above list.

Basic Writing Resources

The Basic Writing section focuses on the fundamental parts of Standard Written English. While not everyone will write or speak exactly the same way, the rules and conventions of Standard Written English provide a framework for academic writing, and ultimately for communication across global audiences using the English language.

This section is divided into a series of guides. You may click on any of the topics below to find more resources on the topic.

  • General
  • Parts of Speech
    • Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Adjectives, Preposition, Conjunctions, and Interjections
    • Using articles (a, an, the)
  • Sentence Construction
    • Basic elements of a sentence
    • Sentence Fragments
    • Subject-Verb Agreement
    • Clauses
    • Sentence Variation
    • Topic Sentences
    • Transitional Sentences
    • Avoiding Run-On Sentences
  • Paragraph Construction
    • Elements of a paragraph
    • Single paragraph-Construction
    • Types of Paragraph
      • Introductory Paragraph
      • Body Paragraph
      • Concluding Paragraph
  • Use of Language
    • Word choice/context
    • Precision
    • Slang/Idioms
    • Prepositions/Prepositional Phrases
    • Unnecessary Words
    • Commonly Confused Words
    • British vs. American English
  • Punctuation/Mechanics
    • Apostrophes
    • Capitalization
    • Colon
    • Comma
    • Hyphen
    • Parentheses
    • Periods
    • Quotation Marks
    • Semicolon
  • General Formatting & Miscellaneous
    • Numbers and decimals
    • Percentages
    • Lists

General Writing

Research & Citation

Research

Citation

 

Graduate & Ph.D. Writing

  • Undergraduate vs. Graduate Writing Expectations
  • Key Writing Elements
    • Writing Across Graduate Disciplines
      • Business
      • Criminal Justice
      • Psychology/Sociology
    • Purpose
    • Audience
    • Context
    • Thesis vs. Dissertation
  • Critical Thinking
    • Junior Scholar vs. Student
    • Joining Professional Organizations
  • Writing Genres
    • Emails
    • Curriculum Vitae (CV) vs. Resume
    • Reflective Writing
    • Discussion Board Posts
    • SWOT Analysis
    • Presentation
      • In-class
      • Conferences
    • Annotated Bibliography
    • Business Plan
      • Strategic Plan
      • Financial Plan
      • Marketing Plan
  • Research Writing
    • Joining the Academic Conversation
    • Using Sources
      • Primary
      • Secondary
    • IRB (Institutional Review Board)
    • Backing up claims with evidence
    • Avoiding plagiarism
  • Research Papers
    • Abstract
    • Literature Review
    • Methodology
    • Discussion
  • Publication
    • Peer Review
    • Book Reviews
    • Journals
    • Academic Publishers
    • Avoiding Predatory Publising