Writing Resources
Writing Support Handouts
Our handouts are downloadable pdf documents that contain explanations and examples of university appropriate English language grammar and style.
- Active and Passive Voice
- Answering Essay Questions
- Articles: The or A(n)
- Book Reviews
- Common Prefixes, Roots and Suffixes
- Compare and Contrast Essays
- Conciseness
- Conditional Sentences
- Coordination
- Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers
- Essays: General Structure
- Expectations of English-speaking Readers
- Faulty Parallelism
- Participles, Gerunds and Infinitives
- Personal Statements
- Prepositions
- Pronouns
- Quoting Vs. Paraphrasing
- Rules for Numbers in Writing
- Run-on Sentences
- Sentence Fragments
- Sentence Patterns
- Subject-Verb Agreement
- Summary Writing
- The Colon and the Dash
- The Comma
- The Possessive Apostrophe
- The Semicolon
- Thesis Statements
- Transition Signals
- Verb Tenses
- Which Vs. That
- Word Choice
- Writing as a Process
- Written Proficiency Assessment
Style Guides
Western Libraries has created up-to-date Online Style Guides for academic citations and referencing. Several citation management systems are also available for all Western students, staff, and faculty; this web-based software can help you organize and format your citations.
Directory of university writing centres
Other university writing centres have their own sets of resources. If you have been through our site and are looking for further information or help, check out the following selected list:
- Athabasca University, Write Site
- Dalhousie University, Writing Centre Resource Guide
- Emily Carr University of Art and Design, The Writing Centre Handouts
- Purdue University OWL
- Queens University, Writing Centre Resources
- University of Alberta, Workshop Handouts
- University of North Carolina, The Writing Centre "Tips and Tools"
- University of Ottawa, The Writing Centre Resources
- University of Toronto, Engineering Communication Program Online Handbook
- University of Toronto, Writing in the Health Sciences: A Comprehensive Guide
- University of Victoria, Self-help and Resources
- University of Wisconsin, The Writer's Handbook
- University of Manchester Academic Phrasebank
Resources to get you started
Are you having trouble starting a paper? Don't know where to look for resources for your course? Begin your research with Weldon Library's subject-specific Research Guides.
Academic writing courses at Western
Writing, Rhetoric and Professional Communication Program
Graduate writing resources
Workshop handouts and other resources can be found on our GradWRITE Writing Resources page.
