Write Well: Skills | CSU Writes

Writing Skill Development

We build our writing skills throughout our careers. Sometimes integrating new methods and techniques will come easily. Sometimes we may need to learn and relearn (and relearn again) how to engage a particular skill as we develop our expertise. Below are some helpful resources to focus your attention on the essential skills of writing well.

This page includes helpful guidance about

Building a research vocabulary
Learn the structure of a document (arrangement of ideas) by reverse outlining
Writing clear and concise sentences
Using transitions to improve flow
Developing strong introductions and conclusions
Crafting literature reviews
Integrating sources and citations smoothly
Noting and tracking common sentence-level issues
Writing for different audiences (e.g., expert vs. nonexpert)
Revising for accuracy and precision
Using active vs. passive voice strategically
Crafting compelling titles and abstracts

And there’s more to come! New content will be added to this page regularly so please check back often.

Literature Reviews

Take a crash course in how to develop a healthy and efficient practice for preparing to write a literature review. No matter your discipline, these strategies for organizing your reading and writing can help take the stress out of tackling this important research step.

By Kimi Conro, CSU Writes Assistant Director