CGHS Library

Writing Help

I have added a new link on the sidebar (to the left) of this library page of six writing sites Mrs. McIver's students use when they revise their papers. Any student can freely use these sites to make their writing better.

The Writer's Workshop TED-Ed Playlist

Shmoop Essay Labs

Shmoop's Essay Labs guide you step by step through the writing process, helping you brainstorm, formulate a thesis, write the essay, and revise—with a bunch of baby steps in between. When you're done, you can view your fancily formatted essay and export it however you'd like.  

• The SAT® and ACT® are around the corner, so you can use our SAT® Essay Lab and an ACT® Writing Lab to help you practice the unique standardized test format before the big day.
• Still working on the building blocks? No sweat. We've got a separate Thesis Statement Builder and Paragraph Builder to let you work on each piece of the puzzle before diving in to the whole thing.
• Since writing isn't just for bookworms, we even have a Lab Report Builder and a Mathematical Proof Builder.
• Whether you're applying for a college scholarship or a job with a six-figure salary, you'll need to be able to construct a coherent piece of writing. Our college and career writing labs—including a College Application Essay Lab, College Scholarship Essay Lab, Resume Builder, and Cover Letter Builder—are the first steps in the process. 

Need Some Ideas?

Sometimes, it's really hard to come up with ideas of topics to write or speak about for class. The New York Times can help.

301 Prompts for Argumentative Writing

By MICHAEL GONCHAR

FEBRUARY 5, 2015 1:50 PM February 5, 2015 1:50 pm

Related Article Credit David Flaherty

"If anything ever published on The Learning Network could be said to have 'gone viral,' it is last February’s '200 Prompts for Argumentative Writing,' which we created to help teachers and students participate in our inaugural Student Editorial Contest.

Well, this year we’re back with the Second Annual Student Editorial Contest (get yours in by March 9!), and, to go with it, we’ve updated last year’s list with new questions and what we hope is more useful categorization."

Read on! Trust me, the prompts are really good.

Useful Writing Tips Google Docs

1-Research

The research tool allows you to do research simultaneously as you are writing or editing your document. From one place you can search different Google services including: Scholar, Images, Quotes, Dictionary. 

To access the research tab click on "tools" and select "research"

The great thing about this Research tool is that it allows you to easily insert citations and links to your document. When you find a web link that you want to add to your document, hover your mouse pointer on the that link and then on “insert link” and it will automatically be displayed in the place where you want it to be. 

The same applies for citations, click on “cite” and Google Doc automatically inserts the citation according to the style you want ( MLA or APA, or Chicago).

2- Spelling

Google Doc has an integrated spelling checker that automatically underlines any misspelled word. However, if you are working on a bigger writing project and you want to make sure your piece is spelling-errors free, just click on “tools” then select spelling. All misspelled terms will be featured in the displayed window.

And if you find yourself repeating the same spelling error over and over, I would suggest that you add it to your personal Dictionary as shown below and from time to time try to have a look at those terms you added there and see if you can remember its spelling.

 

3- Word Count

This is a good nifty tool for students working on assignments that require them to write a given number of words. To know how many words you have written in an essay or article, just highlight the entire text , click on “tools” and select “word count”.

 

From Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

Write for The New York Times

Gregory Shaver/Journal Times, via Associated Press

Each week from June 14 to Aug. 16, teenagers 13 to 19 years old are invited to choose any piece in The New York Times they like and write to tell us why it interested them. We will then choose a weekly favorite to feature, just as we have done every summer since 2010. (More information)

Just Write: Here's How (808.02 MYE)

"Over the years, I have been approached by many would-be writers like you. All kids are smart. Most are also thoughtful and interesting. They have wonderful ideas that I encourage them to explore and develop. I often offer to help guide them through the writing process, even to cowrite with them or show them what I think needs to be done. But even if they're thoughtful and interesting and I'm willing to help, it doesn't always work out. When it does work out, it's because the writer understands that writing is sometimes hard, and is enthusiastic about the writing process." (from Just Write: Here's How by Walter Dean Myers)

Writing

Chris Ritter designed a series of 30 poster images with tips on writing from Hemingway, Orwell, Chekhov, Steinbeck, Twain, and many more.