Handouts and Hyperlinks
Sometimes, you just need a quick reference guide. The following documents and links serve that purpose—for a variety of topics. Save them, print them, share them—we’ve put them together to help you whenever and wherever you are.
If you’d like to recommend additional handout topics, please 260-481-5740 or writingcenter@pfw.edu.
The following handouts should be used only as general guidelines; please use your professor or departmental guidelines when they conflict with those used on these references.
Academic Writing
Use these cheat sheets to build up your writing:
- Analyzing Your Assignment [PDF]
- Analysis vs. Synthesis [PDF]
- Annotating a Text [PDF]
- Audience Analysis [PDF]
- Evaluating Sources: The CRAAP Test [PDF]
- Guide to Writing In-Class Essay Exams [PDF]
- Guidelines for an Annotated Bibliography [PDF]
- How to Write an Analysis [PDF]
- How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis [PDF]
- How to Write a Synthesis [PDF]
- Key Strategies for Effective Revision [PDF]
- One Way to Organize an Academic Paper [PDF]
- How to Write a Summary [PDF]
- Tips for Writing College Papers [PDF]
- Writing a Literature Review [PDF]
- Writing a Thesis Statement [PDF]
Grammar and Usage
Grammar can be confusing; use these handouts as a guide:
- Colons, Semicolons, and Dashes [PDF]
- Combining Clauses [PDF]
- Commas [PDF]
- Formatting Documents in Microsoft Word 2013 [PDF]
- Signal Verbs and Phrases [PDF]
- Transitions [PDF]
Helpful Links
These additional links can help with other writing and style questions you may have:
- Ask a Librarian and Schedule an Appointment with a Librarian
- Purdue’s OWL (Online Writing Lab)
- Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
- MLA Style Guide
- APA Style.org
- International Writing Centers Association
- East Central Writing Centers Association
- Judging Sources: Is Your Journal Scholarly? [Library PDF]
- Judging Sources: Is Your Book Scholarly? [Library PDF]
Sources and Citations
The Writing Center recommends using the Purdue Online Writing Lab for the most up-to-date information on sources and citations. If you need assistance with Purdue OWL, please visit the Writing Center during our business hours. Please note, though we are a Purdue University campus, we have no control or impact on the content of the Purdue OWL. It’s run entirely through the Purdue West Lafayette campus, with a separate staff.