Tips for ESL Writers

     If you are not a native speaker of English, the online reference sites listed below may be useful to you as you pursue your studies at Marquette.  The links are grouped into the following four categories:

General Resources                  Grammar & Usage Issues

Quoting and Paraphrasing        Vocabulary and Idioms

General Resources for ESL Writers 

• For aspects of English usage that puzzle you, refer to a handbook such as The Brief Penguin Handbook, which is currently used in Marquette’s First-Year English program.  For more information, click here.

• For a list of valuable books and Web resources, including quizzes and idiom lists, developed by the publisher of The Brief Penguin Handbook, click here.

• Purdue’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) has developed many materials especially for ESL students in the United States. To see a list of resources, handouts, and exercises, click here.

• You can find a wide-ranging set of links on the site maintained by the Internet TESL Journal.

• Help for with many aspects of English grammar from basic to advanced is available from About.com.

• Do you want to improve your listenting skills? Try Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab (supported by ad revenue)

Quoting and Paraphrasing in American Academic Papers 

     Good advice about avoiding plagiarism when you integrate material from sources into your papers is available in these handouts from the writing centers at the University of Wisconsin and Purdue University:

• “Quoting and Paraphrasing Sources” from the Writers’ Handbook at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Writing Center

• “Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words” from the Purdue OWL

• “Contradictions of American Academic Writing,” from Purdue’s OWL (You may need to scroll down slightly to find this sub-heading.)

Tricky Grammar and Usage Issues in English

• The Grammar and Punctuation section of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s online Writers’ Handbook includes a checklist to help you avoid twelve common errors.

 

• For help with a specific grammar issue, such as verb tenses and article usage (the, a, an), scroll through the Purdue OWL's list of handouts designed especially for ESL students.

• The Writing Center at Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute offers a detailed discussion about article usage, perhaps the most challenging matter for nonnative speakers of English. You may also want to browse through their extensive lists of handouts and links.

• More tips for working with count and non-count nouns are available at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

• If you are curious about the difference between phrasal verbs (such as “brush up”) and verb + preposition structures (such as “come from”), check out the clear rules from Georgia State University. 

Vocabulary Development, Including Idioms 

• You might find exactly the advice you need about idioms and vocabulary on the Purdue OWL’s resource list.

• The Idioms Page at the ESL Café has lots of information about idioms.