University of Minnesota
student writing support
center for writing
writing.umn.edu


Student Writing Support.Center for Writing's home page.

Common writing projects

image of hand on computer mouse

Writing for your classes

Resources for writing in your classes

Writing in a discipline

Literature reviews

Visual presentations

Digital projects

Writing beyond your classes

Personal statements

Resumes and cover letters

Grant, funding, and fellowship proposals

Additional career resources

Writing for your classes

Resources for writing in your classes

Writing Handouts and Demos
The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers handouts and videos on a variety of writing topics, including specific writing assignments.

Academic Writing
From write online.ca, this resource provides in-depth information on the expectations and formats of case study reportslab reports, and reflective writing.

Common Writing Assignments
The Purdue Online Writing Lab has resources to help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments.

How to Write a Thesis Statement
Tips from Indiana University Bloomington on writing thesis statements.

Sample Academic Proposals
Examples of academic proposals for conferences, journal articles, and book chapters from the OWL at Purdue.

Videos on effective email, professional, and academic writing
From Sheryl Holt, TESoL scholar, instructor in the Department of Writing Studies and the Carlson School of Management, and author of Success with Academic and Scholarly Writing (2004).

Writing an Annotated Bibliography
From the OWL at Purdue, an online resource that offers definitions and information on format, content, and style of annotated bibliographies. Includes examples of entries using MLA, APA, and Chicago style formats.

Book Reviews
Step-by-step advice on writing a book review or an essay that offers a critical perspective on a text—from The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Writing in a discipline

Analyzing Scholarly Articles
From the Texas A & M University Writing Center, a useful guide to writing critical analyses of scholarly articles.

Rhetorical Analysis
From the Texas A & M University Writing Center, a concise introduction to the elements of a rhetorical analysis.

Policy Writing
From the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Writing Center at the University of Michigan, an informative graphic that provides an overview of policy writing and advice for what a policy memo should do.

Carnegie Mellon University Global Communication Center resources
This webpage links to a variety of research-based handouts and videos specifically focused on writing in the STEM disciplines.

How to Write a Paper in Scientific Journal Style and Format
Many pages of in-depth information from the Department of Biology, Bates College.

Writing Formal Laboratory Reports
From Truman State University in Missouri, this page provides details about style, organization, and the various parts of lab reports in chemistry.

Writing Laboratory Reports (Mechanical Engineering)
From the UMN Mechanical Engineering department, this is a student writing guide on lab reports.

Writing in the Health Sciences
From the University of Toronto, a comprehensive guide for writers in the health sciences, including advice for writing in research and policy contexts. Topics covered include annotated bibliographies, evidence-based reportsissue analysesliterature reviewsoral presentations, and poster presentations, among others.

Writing in Mathematics
Puzzled about how to write a math essay (and why you are being asked to write one)? Your questions are answered here by a professor at Franklin & Marshall College.

Business Writing
From the Iowa State University Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business, topics include memo writing and preparing for presentations.

Literature reviews

Literature Reviews: An Introduction
From the Carnegie Mellon University Global Communication Center, this handout provides an introduction to writing an effective literature review.

Writing a Review of Literature
From the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a definition of a literature review, along with step-by-step advice on organization.

Writing Systematic Reviews
The University of Minnesota Libraries provide support for the process of completing systematic reviews. Clicking on the link will lead you to a request form.

Literature Review: Questions to Ask Yourself
From the University of Toronto Writing in the Health Sciences: A Comprehensive Guide, a number of questions that you can consider when developing a literature review.

Visual presentations

Poster Presentations
On this page, the UW-Madison Writing Center Writer's Handbook includes features of a poster presentation and provides several samples.

Writing Effective Slides
A handout by Ann Fandrey on "New Techniques for your Slide Design Toolkit."

More on Academic Slide Design
Academic Slide Design: Visual Communication For Teaching and Learning is an ebook by Ann Fandrey featuring ways to create effective slides.

Digital projects

Digital Media Projects
Samples, resources, and consultations related to creating video, design, and other media projects from Media Services at the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Digital Projects
Produced by the Digital Arts, Sciences, and Humanities (DASH) program at UMN, this website features support for a number of specialties, including website platforms, digital storytelling, data visualization, and text mining.

Writing beyond your classes

Personal statements

Writing Personal Statements for the Health professions
From the Writing Center at George Mason University, tips on the process of writing personal statements to apply for medical, dental, and other health programs. Includes advice on navigating AMCAS and AADSAS.

Creating Effective Personal Statements
In-depth advice on writing personal statements for graduate school applications from CLA Career Services at U of MN.

Guided Brainstorming Exercises for the Personal Statement
This online tutorial from the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Writing Center helps writers to generate ideas for their personal statements. Writers can answer the brainstorming questions online, then have their responses emailed to themselves for further use in their drafts.

Resumes and cover letters

Resume Guide
From CLA Career Services, tips on writing a resume, from getting started to formatting in Microsoft Word.

Cover Letter Guide
From CLA Career Services, advice on writing and formatting a cover letter (samples included).

CVs, Cover Letters, and Teaching Portfolios (pdf)
From Stanford University, brief advice on the academic job application process followed by a rich collection of sample CVs from the Humanities, Education, and Science/Engineering, along with sample cover letters for jobs and postdocs.

List of Action Verbs for Resumes & Professional Profiles
This two-page list in pdf format is from the Wake Forest University Career and Professional Development website.

Grant, funding, and fellowship proposals

Samples of Successful Fellowship Proposals
From the UMN Graduate School, this searchable archive of student proposals can only be accessed after completing a confidentiality agreement. For UMN students only.

On the Art of Writing Proposals
Downloadable 9-page PDF of suggestions from the Social Science Research Council for writers seeking research funding.

Planning and Writing a Grant Proposal: The Basics
From the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Writing Center, this site includes common elements of proposals as well as successful sample proposals.

Searching for Grants and Writing Proposals
From the UMN libraries, this site includes search tools, local resources, and proposal development, in addition to online training and support.

Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal
This detailed guide enumerates the sections of a funding proposal and provides both writing advice and examples of a final product. Users can select separate sections or download PDFs of the whole site.

Additional career resources

Career Services
Offers U of MN students discipline-specific advice and consultations on writing resumes, cover letters, personal statements for graduate and professional programs, and so on.

CLA Career Services
Free workshops offered by CLA Career Services at UMN.