Resources
Welcome to our INRW and ENGL student resource hub! The following handouts provide general guidelines to support various aspects of the writing process. If there is a specific topic you would like us to cover, please reach out to Veronica Luna, Academic Program Specialist (vluna81@alamo.edu).
*Students, while we hope you find these handouts helpful, your instructor's guidelines and preferences should always be followed.
Writing Process & Essay Planning
- Understand the Assignment
- Audience and Purpose
- General Writing Process
- Thesis Statement
- Paragraphs
- MLA Format
Clarity & Style
Grammar & Punctuation
- Redundant Acronyms
- Apostrophes
- Comma Splices
- Sentence Fragments
- Homonyms (Misspelled and Misused Words)
- Irregular Verbs
- MLA Format
- Modifiers
- Parts of Speech
Reading Strategies
- Strategies 01: Mumble, Read, and Listen
- Strategies 02: Skimming and Key Words
- Strategies 03: Marginal Notes and Mapping
- Strategies 04: Inductive/Deductive Reading and Annotating a Text
- Strategies 05: Reading/Rereading and Rumination
- Strategies 06: Reflection Points and Talking Through a Text
- Strategies 07: Hearing or Visualizing a Text
- Strategies 08: Start at the End and Summarize
- Strategies 09: Reading on a Walk and Moving When You Read
- Strategies 10: Confidence & Focus
- Strategies 11: A Special Place, A Journal, and Reading Rewards
Reading Improvement
MLA 9th Edition - Formatting
****The following guidelines are based on the MLA Handbook Ninth Edition. Students are advised to adhere to their instructor's specific requirements.
Fig. 1: The top of the first page of an MLA formatted page.
- Page Margins
- Margins are one inch at the top and bottom and on both sides of the text.
- Running Head and Page Numbers
- Pages are numbered consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, half an inch from the top and flush with the right margin. Type your surname (last name), followed by a space, before the page number.
- Title
- One inch from the top of the first page and flush with the left margin
- Include your name, instructor’s name, course name and number, and date on separate double-spaced lines.
- Center the title of your essay using title capitalization.
- Text Formatting
- Double-space the entire essay, including the Works Cited page.
- Indent the first line of a paragraph half an inch from the left margin.
- Indent block quotations half an inch as well.
- Leave one space after a period or other concluding punctuation mark.
- Use a readable typeface, e.g. Times New Roman, and font size between 11 and 13 points throughout your essay.
- Works Cited Page (last page)
- Center the heading, Works Cited, an inch from the top of the page.
- List entries in alphabetical order.
- Begin each citation flush with the left margin. Subsequent lines should begin half an inch from the left margin (hanging indent).
- Double-space the entire Works Cited page including the heading and each entry.
Fig. 2: The top of the first page of a works-cited list.