Writing Resources

Check out these websites for information to help you write your essays:

Software Help:

  • Free download of Microsoft Office — If you need a copy of MS Office, you are eligible for a free copy of it as a Palomar student.  Just be sure to use your Palomar email address.

Writing Centers (both at Palomar and Online):

Library and Research Help:

  • Palomar College Library — You can access database articles and the book database on our library’s website.  You’ll need to use your student ID and password to access everything here.
  • Research Guides from the Palomar Library — If you have to do a research paper for a class (not just ours) but don’t know how to get started on it, check out this webpage that was put together by our librarians.  They’ve put together research guides sorted by discipline/subject matter to help you get going with your research.
  • Short video that shows the differences between scholarly sources vs. popular articles

MLA Format Help:

  • Easy Bib — This free website helps you cite sources and create Works Cited pages in MLA, APA, or Chicago style.  Our Palomar librarians have put together two handouts about using Easy Bib to make it easier to use.  The What Is Easy Bib?  handout will explain to you what Easy Bib is and how to use it.  The Getting Started Guide is a handout that will help you figure out how to use Easy Bib.
  • MLA Citation Examples — Our Palomar librarians put together this handy “cheat sheet” (it’s a pdf file) with samples of the most common kinds of sources you might need to cite for your research essays. Please note that these samples are for the 2009 version of MLA format.
  •  Sample MLA Research Essay— This link will allow you to download a sample research essay done in MLA format.
  • Sample literary analysis essay from the MLA website (on Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park)

 

Useful Articles about Writing, Brainstorming, and Overcoming Procrastination and Writer’s Block:

 

Writing Topics:

 

Useful Videos about Writing: