Featured Resource: Turnitin and SafeAssign
The Writing Center now has access to both Turnitin and SafeAssign. Students can these tools to identify potential plagiarism in their writing and help them learn to cite and paraphrase sources. Both tools compare student’s papers to the millions of existing papers in their databases to see if there are any text matches. Neither of these tools determines plagiarism. They identify text matches which can check to determine if the source has been correctly cited and attributed.
Take advantage of the opportunities both these tools offer. Contact the Writing Center and see if Turnitin and SafeAssign can help you improve your academic writing.
Writing Sites
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
There are several good Online Writing Labs (OWLs); the Purdue OWL is one of the best in terms of scope and organization. After the physical APA manual and the APA Blog, the Purdue Owl is probably the resource that we in the writing center recommend most often. The site has style rules and formatting examples for APA and MLA styles. It also provides excellent discussions, definitions, and exercises covering grammar, punctuation, active and passive voice, and what it means to write academically.
Writing Commons is a free, open-education resource for writers who want to improve their writing.
A free writing style checker that helps you avoid passive voice and other common writing errors.
Grammar/Vocabulary
Use the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary to find definitions, synonyms, and antonyms. The site has links to other dictionaries including a Spanish-English Translation, English – Arabic translation, Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, and medical and legal dictionaries.
Find synonyms and antonyms with this comprehensive online thesaurus.
Get help with HyperGrammar. This site offers short courses on a specific grammar questions.
References/Citations
EasyBib is a free bibliography generator that formats citations and bibliographies in APA, MLA, and Chicago Style formats.
RefME is a free reference generator that allows you to create and manage your references in APA, MLA, Harvard, and Chicago Style formats.
RefWorks is a subscription-based online research management tools to help researchers gather and store information and generate citations and bibliographies.
University Libraries’ Citation Fox is a wonderful resource for help in constructing reference citations in APA style. However, presently, it is only adhering to the 2010 6th edition and has not yet made the transition to the 2020 7th edition. If you are using the 6th edition for your work, Citation Fox covers most source types, is easy to navigate, and supplies detailed instruction as well as examples.
Students can find general examples of grammar, syntax, and style all over the web. However, sometimes students have questions about citing sources that do not fit easily into general guidelines (What government agency or corporation is responsible for authoring HealthyPeople 2020? Is it a journal or a report?) The APA Blog delves into the minutia of style. And, if the Blog does not have the answer you seek, they are quick to respond to your specific, style-related questions.
APA Manual E-book
The 2020, 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA Manual) is available from Amazon (print versions) and from APA (print and electronic versions). Concise Guide to APA Style, 7th edition is also available from Amazon and APA. This pocket guide is specifically designed for student writers.
CV/Resume
Writing Residency Personal Statements
This resource is produced by the Office of Career and Professional Development at the University of California, San Francisco. It provides information on the importance of personal statements, what information yours should contain, and how to make it interesting and convincing. It also offers recommendations on how to write your personal statement and identifies common problems you should avoid.
There are many CV templates available on the web. We in the writing center recommend this resource from the University of California San Francisco Medical Center; it not only delves into how a CV should be organized but also why CVs should be organized. Much like UAMS, UCSF focuses on health professionals, and the UCSF Career and Professional Development site (http://career.ucsf.edu/) has many excellent examples, templates, and lessons, from cover letters to elevator pitches. Bonus!
Grants and Publications
Science Communications Group (SCICOM)
Faculty in all UAMS colleges are specifically served by the Science Communications Group (SCICOM). Among their many services, the SCICOM assists with grant applications and editing manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals.