A Blog of Writing Resources from The University of Scranton's Writing Center
Verbix is a free website where you can enter a verb in most languages, and it will give you all of the verb forms in each tense with examples. It will also suggest translations of the verb in other languages, and it will provide closely related verbs within the target language with examples.It’s a helpful tool for all students looking to integrate more academic verbs, but it is particularly useful for English language learners.
by Dimitri Bartels-Bray
Beginning the graduate school application process might seem like a daunting task. Sure, you’ve applied to internships or scholarships in the past couple of years, but when’s the last time you sat down and applied to a school? Probably over four years ago. What’s worse is that this time, there’s the personal statement.
Fortunately, applying to graduate school, regardless of which type of degree you anticipate getting, does not need to be as harrowing as it initially seems. Today, we’ll be helping you step-by-step to create the personal statement, one of the largest pieces of your application. Let’s dive right in:
It might seem straightforward, but often students jump into the writing without doing the planning first! Schools normally restrict personal statements to only one or two pages, which isn’t a whole lot of room to tell them about yourself and your aspirations. That’s why it’s important to go in knowing the main points you plan to get across. Consider questions like:
Once you have your goals listed out, consider creating an outline. This is a great way – as it
is with any paper – to expand and organize your ideas. To begin, consider this common format:
After you finish writing your rough draft, it’s best to walk away for a bit if you have the time, which is why we recommend beginning the writing process as early as possible. Not looking at your work will enhance the editing process as it won’t be as fresh in your mind – it’s much easier to critically edit when the document isn’t familiar!
Once you’ve let it sit for a while, return to the document, and read it aloud. Reading it aloud is the easiest way to check for clear grammar and flow errors. Also take this initial session to ensure that you cover all the points you hoped to discuss. Remember that this is the chance for admissions’ officers to get to know YOU. After reading, make any necessary edits, and rewrite portions if you find your statement lacking information.
After you feel that you have a solid draft with all the information you want to include, this is a great time to get feedback from others. Visit your school’s career or writing center to go over it with you; ask professors in your field if they’d have the chance to read it. Gain as much feedback as possible. After each time, return to your paper and adjust. Repeating this process again and again will help gather different perspectives on your work and ensure that your ideas translate to an outside audience.
Though we hope these steps help you in completing you, we understand how overwhelming it can be to begin the process. In addition to offering these guidelines and our services, here are some external resources that might help:
Litcharts is a great resource if you are new to navigating the works of Shakespeare. The website offers the original full-text of most of Shakespeare’s plays with modern translations on a parallel screen. The lines are color-coded, which makes it easy to read and compare the two versions of the text. Additionally, you can get the act, scene, and line number by hovering over any piece of text. It also gives you the full reference for the webpage, just in case you’d like to use any of their modern translations in a paper. Check it out!
Shakespeare Translations at LitCharts
Natural Reader is a website that allows students to upload files of text (like MS Word documents and PDFs) and have them read aloud. The software is unique that that it is offers multiple natural-sounding voices, and it offers the user a library to keep files without a subscription. You can adjust the text-size, text-spacing, and switch to dyslexia friendly font. Check it out!
https://www.naturalreaders.com/online/
Speech Notes is a free website that will type your text as you speak it. In the column to the right, it has basic instructions for inserting punctuation as you talk. From there, it’s easy to copy and paste your sentences into a word document with the “Copy to Clipboard” icon. You can also upload your document directly to a google drive, Word document, or email it to yourself using the icons to the right. It’s functionality also available in multiple languages. Check it out!
In addition, you can also upload text, and it will read it aloud to you. Just click “Text to Speech” at the top of the page:
Mendeley is a free program designed to help you organize, annotate, and cite your sources. It is particularly useful when you are working with 10 or more sources. Check it out!
Adding a hyperlinked table of contents can save you and your reader time. As your dissertation document grows, it will become increasingly difficult to navigate by scrolling, so we recommend you set up a hyperlinked table of contents early and update it when your document is completed. Here’s the process:
Conferences are ideal ways to connect with professionals in your field and increase your visibility within your discipline. They are wonderful opportunities for professional development and presenting at conferences can be crucial lines for your CV. However, crafting a paper to be accepted and later presented at a conference is a unique art. Here’s some of our favorite resources to guide you through the process.
1.) How to write a conference paper
2.) What to avoid when crafting a conference paper.
3.) Some possible templates to help you draft your conference paper:
Our favorite resource for literature reviews was created by The University of Waterloo. First, these modules define what literature reviews are, where they appear, and why they are beneficial. The website talks about discipline-specific writing conventions and the different organizational approaches. Then, it walks writers through the process of composing literature reviews in a highly visual and interactive guide. The images, in particular, can help writers understand the various forms of knowledge gaps. Ultimately, this is a quick but highly beneficial resource that can guide novice writers who are unfamiliar with the conventions of literature reviews.
Other Resources
| Student Sample Papers | An Annotated Student Sample Paper |
| Common Issues in Philosophy Papers | Examples of What Not To Do |
| Strong Writing vs. Poor Writing
in Philosophy Papers |
Examples of Student Writing |
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