Cover Letters

Cover letters are often requested as part of job applications, typically alongside resumes, and serve to help persuade employers to offer you an interview. In many cases, the cover letter will serve as the “cover” (or first page) of your application materials and as your first impression and introduction to your potential future employer. As […]

Personal Statements and Statements of Purpose

On this Page: Sample Prompts Getting Started General Structure Other Tips Revising and Editing Related Links A personal statement and/or a statement of purpose is often required by graduate school applications. Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably, but sometimes they can have different meanings. For example, some schools might use the term personal statement to […]

Policies

Policies for Writers: Writers Workshop Code of Conduct: The Writers Workshop operates within the larger inclusive and professional environment of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In creating a diverse and respectful environment, the Writers Workshop will not accept verbal abuse or acts of intolerance, including those based on race, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, political orientation, language, […]

Teaching Linguistically Diverse Writers

On This Page: Acquiring Academic Literacy Responding to Linguistically Diverse Students’ Writing For Further Reading Related Links The University of Illinois celebrates “our diverse community” as the “most powerful asset” of our world-class university. As our campus welcomes students and faculty from the state of Illinois and beyond, we strive to create an inclusive and […]

Preventing Plagiarism

Maintaining academic integrity as an instructor involves understanding how it impacts your class and the university as a whole. Avoiding plagiarism is one crucial way to uphold academic integrity and help guide students toward success in and beyond your course. What is plagiarism?  According to UIUC’s Student Code, plagiarism is one type of academic integrity […]

Conference Presentations

Conference presentations can present a range of unique challenges. Below are some tips that can help you prepare to give a conference talk, especially if you’re new to sharing your work in this way. If you’re working on a poster presentation, check out this resource on creating research posters. Preparing for Oral Delivery Be attentive […]

Abstracts

An abstract summarizes the most pertinent details of a text, usually an academic article, thesis or dissertation, or conference presentation. After reading an abstract, a reader should know the work’s purpose and the main problems addressed. The abstract also makes the reader aware of the work’s thesis or main argument, findings, and implications. Many readers […]

Asking for Feedback

All writers benefit from feedback, but it’s not always easy to ask for. We often receive feedback after we submit a piece of writing, whether that feedback comes from an instructor, in-class peer review, or a dissertation advisor. But it’s a good idea to be proactive about seeking feedback at multiple stages of a writing […]

Reading Scholarly Sources

Much of the writing you’ll do in college will involve reading, summarizing, synthesizing, and making arguments from academic sources. Scholarly sources are written by experts in a particular field of study and are peer-reviewed or refereed by experts in the field before publication. Scholarly books are often (but not exclusively) published by university presses (e.g., […]

Editing and Proofreading

As you prepare your final draft, you’ll want to leave time to edit and proofread. Editing strategies focus on making your text more readable by assessing clarity, style, and citations, while proofreading strategies focus on eliminating errors and mistakes in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. Follow the steps below to edit and proofread your draft. […]