Resources For Writers
Looking for academic support beyond writing? Duke's Academic Resource Center offers programs and services that promote student academic achievement at Duke. All undergraduate students in Trinity College and Pratt School of Engineering are eligible to participate.
Academic Writing: These resources provide detailed information about key phases in the writing process, including:
- Overviews of academic writing and writing as a process (how your personality affects you as a writer, plus overviews of the elements of academic writing and the steps involved in producing written work);
- Prewriting (preparatory work including gathering and critically reading sources, generating and mapping ideas, and getting words onto paper);
- Drafting (creating strong claims, composing effective introductions and conclusions, and creating a sense of unity and flow within sentences, paragraphs, and your paper as a whole);
- Revising (evaluating the efficacy of your paper and considering its organization and style); and
- Making texts public (publications, posters, and oral presentations).
ESL / EFL Resources: Especially tailored to non-native speakers, these resources supplement the above information about academic writing.
Working With Sources: How to evaluate, read critically, quote, and cite the texts you use.
Genres of Writing: Over 20 short guides from the Writing Studio provide definitions, questions to ask, and actions to take regarding the most common genres of academic writing you may encounter at Duke University.
Writing for Specific Disciplines: These short guides offer tips for writing within specific academic disciplines.
Grammar and Reference: Here you will find helpful references for all writers.
Workshop Resources: You'll find Powerpoint workshop tutorials here on topics ranging from "Making an Argument" to "Getting In: Application Essays for Graduate and Professional Schools, Internships, and Special Programs." Sign up here for live workshop presentations.
Photographs, Audio Clips, and Video: Learn what a one-on-one tutoring appointment is like by viewing a video from an actual session, listen to testimonials from Duke students on how visiting the Writing Studio has helped them improve as writers, and look at our gallery of photographs.
Library: The Writing Studio non-circulating library is available for student, faculty, and community use.
Site Map: If you know you've seen something on our website before but can't find it now, check out our site map for a convenient list of our handouts and links. You can also search the site using the Search Engine to the left.