Resources
Writing Program Standards
The handbook used in all First-Year Writing courses is Diana Hacker’s A Pocket Style Manual, (6th ed, co-authored by Nancy Sommers, Bedford St. Martin’s). The manual is available in the Wellesley College Bookstore; an associated web site has exercises and quizzes for all students and instructors in FYW courses.
The Writing Program teaches two styles for bibliographic documentation and reference:
- MLA style (for papers written in the arts and humanities
- APA style (for papers written in the sciences and social sciences)
Some fields (history, art history, education, cinema studies) prefer the Chicago Style.
All three styles are discussed and illustrated in Hacker’s Pocket Style Manual. See also The Harvard Guide to Using Sources.
The Wellesley College library has constructed wonderful research guides tailored to specific courses and disciplines. See also the library’s research guides on citing sources and on writing.
Click here for the Grading Standards adopted by the Writing Program.
For comprehensive information about all aspects of academic writing, check out:
For help with style, punctuation, grammar:
- Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style
- Capital Community College’s Guide to Grammar & Writing: a compendious set of quizzes, explanations, polls, help with paragraphs, and tips on constructing PowerPoints.
- Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
- Dave’s ESL Café
On style for oral presentations, PowerPoints, and graphics:
- Edward Tufte’s “PowerPoint is Evil” and PowerPoint Does Rocket Science
- Oral presentation advice for computer scientists
- Oral presentation tips from Ohio Wesleyan University (very thorough and helpful)
