Essay Clusters are groupings of Writing Spaces content arranged by topic. This feature is meant to help instructors when designing their course and looking for an essay that covers a specific subject area or writing practice.
Academic Writing | Argument, Logic, & Rhetorical Appeals | Collaboration | Cultural Competencies | Design & Visual Rhetoric | Discourse Community / Social Writing Theory | Genre & Form | Grammar & Style | Invention & Prewriting | Digital Writing & Rhetoric | Peer Review & Feedback | Personal & Narrative Writing | Process | Public Writing & Advocacy | Myths & Anxieties | Multimodal Composition | Reading | Reflection & Metacognition | Research | Rhetoric & Rhetorical Analysis | Transfer | Working with Sources | Writing Center
Academic Writing
- What is Academic Writing by L. Lennie Irvin
- So You’ve Got a Writing Assignment. Now What? by Corrine E. Hinton
- Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic by Gita DasBender
- Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment by Catherine Savini
- Weaving Personal Experience into Academic Writing by Marjorie Stewart
- Composition as a Write of Passage by Nathalie Singh-Corcoran
- What Are We Being Graded On? by Jeremy Levine
- Four Things Social Media Can Teach You about Writing – and One Thing It Can’t by Ann N. Amiccuci
- “Is This for a Grade?”: Understanding Assessment, Evaluation, and Low-Stakes Writing Assignments by Jason McIntosh
- We Write Because We Care: Developing Your Writerly Identity by Glenn Lester, Sydney Doyle, Taylor Lucas, and Alison Overcash
- Writing Science in the First Year of College: Why It Matters to STEM Students and How STEM Students Benefit from It by Christopher Thaiss and Stephanie Wade
- Let’s Party: Composing a Review of the Literature on a Technical Topic by Daniel P. Richards
- Technical, Scientific, and Business Presentations: Strategies for Success by Darina M. Slattery
- Drafting Technical Definitions and Descriptions by Quan Zhou
- Reflecting on Literacy Identities Through Writing Personal Narratives by Ruth Li
- Writing as the World Falls Apart: A Filipino Perspective on Academic Writing by Florianne Jimenez and Aileen Salonga
Argument, Logic, & Rhetorical Appeals
- Finding the Good Argument OR Why Bother With Logic? by Rebecca Jones
- Exigency: What Makes My Message Indispensable to My Reader by Quentin Vieregge
- Constructing Scholarly Ethos in the Writing Classroom by Kathleen J. Ryan
- Assessing Source Credibility for Crafting a Well-Informed Argument by Kate Warrington, Natasha Kovalyova, and Cindy King
- Four Things Social Media Can Teach You about Writing – and One Thing It Can’t by Ann N. Amiccuci
Collaboration
- Collaborating Online: Digital Strategies for Group Work by Anthony T. Atkins
- A Student’s Guide to Collaborative Writing Technologies by Matt Barton and Karl Klint
- Writing “Eyeball To Eyeball”: Building A Successful Collaboration by Rebecca Ingalls
- Writing with Your Peers by Raquel Corona, Kami Day, and Michele Eodice
- Technologies of Trust: Creating Networks of Goodwill for Collaboration by Lance Cummings, Rin Jackson, and Moriah Yancey
- Navigating Your Collaborative Project by Ellen Cecil-Lemkin and Tamara Gluck
- Stronger Together: Collaborative Work in the Technical Writing Classroom by Laurence José
Cultural Competencies
- Writing in Global Contexts: Composing Usable Texts for Audiences from Different Cultures by Kirk St. Amant
- Writing toward Racial Literacy by Mara Lee Grayson
- Beyond Language Difference in Writing: Investigating Complex and Equitable Language Practices by Cristina Sánchez-Martín
- The Rhetorical Possibilities of Accessibility by Rachel Donegan
- Enabling the Reader by Kefaya Diab
- What Color Is My Voice? Academic Writing and the Myth of Standard English by Kristin DeMint Bailey, An Ha, & Anthony J. Outlar
- What Can I Add to the Discourse Community? How Writers Use Code Meshing and Translanguaging to Negotiate Discourse by Lisa Tremain
- How to Write for Global Audiences by Birgitta Meex
- Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach by Audrey G. Bennett
- Reflecting on Literacy Identities Through Writing Personal Narratives by Ruth Li
- Writing as the World Falls Apart: A Filipino Perspective on Academic Writing by Florianne Jimenez and Aileen Salonga
- Writing Counterstories: Ways to Challenge Dominant Narratives in FYC by Sana Sayed
Design and Visual Rhetoric
- Understanding Visual Rhetoric by Jenae Cohn
- Beyond Black on White: Document Design and Formatting in the Writing Classroom by Michael J. Klein and Kristi L. Shackelford
- The Rhetorical Possibilities of Accessibility by Rachel Donegan
- Worth a Thousand Words: Constructing Visual Arguments in Technical Communication by Candice Welhausen
- Technical, Scientific, and Business Presentations: Strategies for Success by Darina M. Slattery
- Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing by Felicia Chong and Tammy Rice-Bailey
- Composing Technical Documents for Localized Usability in the International Context by Keshab Raj Acharya
- Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach by Audrey G. Bennett
- Basic Approaches to Creating Accessible Documentation Projects: What Is Accessibility, and What Does It Have to do with Documentation Projects? by Cathryn Molloy
- “Not So Fast”: Centering Your Users to Design the Right Solution by Candice Lanius and Ryan Weber
Discourse Community / Social Writing Theory
- Understanding Discourse Communities by Dan Melzer
- Creating, Using and Sharing Information in Research Communities by Cassie Hemstrom and Kathy Anders
- Make Your “Move”: Writing in Genres by Brad Jacobson, Madelyn Pawlowski, and Christine M. Tardy
- Read the Room! Navigating Social Contexts and Written Texts by Sarah Seeley, Kelly Xu, and Matthew Chen
- What Can I Add to the Discourse Community? How Writers Use Code Meshing and Translanguaging to Negotiate Discourse by Lisa Tremain
Genre & Form
- Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk
- Understanding Discourse Communities by Dan Melzer
- The Sixth Paragraph: A Re-Vision of the Essay by Paul Lynch
- Make Your “Move”: Writing in Genres by Brad Jacobson, Madelyn Pawlowski, and Christine M. Tardy
- Last to Be Written, First to Be Read: Writing Memos, Abstracts and Executive Summaries by K. Alex Ilyasova
Grammar & Style
- The Evolution of Imitation: Building Your Style by Craig A. Meyer
- Punctuation’s Rhetorical Effects by Kevin Cassell
- Writing with Force and Flair by William T. FitzGerald
- Grammar, Rhetoric, and Style by Craig Hulst
- On the Other Hand: The Role of Antithetical Writing in First Year Composition Courses by Steven D. Krause
- The Sixth Paragraph: A Re-Vision of the Essay by Paul Lynch
- Last to Be Written, First to Be Read: Writing Memos, Abstracts and Executive Summaries by K. Alex Ilyasova
- Drafting Technical Definitions and Descriptions by Quan Zhou
Invention & Prewriting
- Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way into a Writing Assignment by Catherine Savini
- Reinventing Invention: Discovery and Investment in Writing by Michelle D. Trim and Megan Lynn Isaac
- Taking Flight: Connecting Inner and Outer Realities during Invention by Susan E. Antlitz
- The Complexity of Simplicity: Invention Potentials for Writing Students by Colin Charlton
- “Finding Your Way In”: Invention as Inquiry Based Learning in First Year Writing by Steven Lessner and Collin Craig
- The Inspired Writer vs. the Real Writer by Sarah Allen
- Find the Best Tools for the Job: Experimenting with Writing Workflows by Derek Van Ittersum and Tim Lockridge
Digital Writing & Rhetoric
- Why Blog? Searching for Writing on the Web by Alex Reid
- An Introduction to and Strategies for Multimodal Composing by Melanie Gagich
- Wikipedia Is Good for You!? by James P. Purdy
- Collaborating Online: Digital Strategies for Group Work by Anthony T. Atkins
- A Student’s Guide to Collaborative Writing Technologies by Matt Barton and Karl Klint
- Four Things Social Media Can Teach You about Writing – and One Thing It Can’t by Ann N. Amiccuci
- Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources by Ellen Carillo and Alice Horning
- Technologies of Trust: Creating Networks of Goodwill for Collaboration by Lance Cummings, Rin Jackson, and Moriah Yancey
- Understanding and Maintaining Your Privacy When Writing with Digital Technologies by Lindsey C. Kim
- Find the Best Tools for the Job: Experimenting with Writing Workflows by Derek Van Ittersum and Tim Lockridge
- You Are Good for Wikipedia by Matthew Vetter and Oksana Moroz
- Strategies for Analyzing and Composing Data Stories by Angela M. Laflen
- Writing Technical Content for Online Spaces by Yvonne Cleary
Technical & Professional Communication
- Assessing Sources for Technical Communication Research by Therese I Pennell
- Worth a Thousand Words: Constructing Visual Arguments in Technical Communication by Candice A. Welhausen
- Let’s Party: Composing a Review of the Literature on a Technical Topic by Daniel P. Richards
- Technical, Scientific, and Business Presentations: Strategies for Success by Darina M. Slattery
- How to Write for Global Audiences by Birgitta Meex
- Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing by Felicia Chong and Tammy Rice-Bailey
- Last to Be Written, First to Be Read: Writing Memos, Abstracts and Executive Summaries by K. Alex Ilyasova
- Composing Technical Documents for Localized Usability in the International Context by Keshab Raj Acharya
- Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach by Audrey G. Bennett
- Basic Approaches to Creating Accessible Documentation Projects: What Is Accessibility, and What Does It Have to do with Documentation Projects? by Cathryn Molloy
- “Not So Fast”: Centering Your Users to Design the Right Solution by Candice Lanius and Ryan Weber
- Beyond Audience Analysis: Three Stages of User Experience Research for Technical Writers by Joanna Schreiber
- Writing Technical Content for Online Spaces by Yvonne Cleary
- Stronger Together: Collaborative Work in the Technical Writing Classroom by Laurence José
- Drafting Technical Definitions and Descriptions by Quan Zhou
- Who Is the User? Researching Audiences for Technical Documents by Emma J. Rose
Global & International Writing
- How to Write for Global Audiences by Birgitta Meex
- Writing in Global Contexts: Composing Usable Texts for Audiences from Different Cultures by Kirk St. Amant
- Beyond Language Difference in Writing: Investigating Complex and Equitable Language Practices by Cristina Sánchez-Martín
- Composing Technical Documents for Localized Usability in the International Context by Keshab Raj Acharya
- Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach by Audrey G. Bennett
- Reflecting on Literacy Identities Through Writing Personal Narratives by Ruth Li
- Writing as the World Falls Apart: A Filipino Perspective on Academic Writing by Florianne Jimenez and Aileen Salonga
- Writing Counterstories: Ways to Challenge Dominant Narratives in FYC by Sana Sayed
Peer Review & Feedback
- How to Write Meaningful Peer Response Praise by Ron DePeter
- What’s That Supposed to Mean? Using Feedback on Your Writing by Jillian Grauman
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Peer Review by Erin E. Kelly
Personal & Narrative Writing
- Weaving Personal Experience into Academic Writing by Marjorie Stewart
- I Need You to Say “I”: Why First Person is Important in College Writing by Kate McKinney Maddalena
- Storytelling, Narration, and the “Who I Am” Story by Catherine Ramsdell
- Workin’ Languages: Who We Are Matters in Our Writing by Sarah P. Alvarez, Amy J. Wan, and Eunjeong Lee
- We Write Because We Care: Developing Your Writerly Identity by Glenn Lester, Sydney Doyle, Taylor Lucas, and Alison Overcash
- Reflecting on Literacy Identities Through Writing Personal Narratives by Ruth Li
- Writing Counterstories: Ways to Challenge Dominant Narratives in FYC by Sana Sayed
Process
- So You’ve Got a Writing Assignment. Now What? by Corrine E. Hinton
- From Topic to Presentation: Making Choices to Develop Your Writing by Beth L. Hewett
- “Finding Your Way In”: Invention as Inquiry Based Learning in First Year Writing by Steven Lessner and Collin Craig
- Wikipedia Is Good for You!? by James P. Purdy
- What’s That Supposed to Mean? Using Feedback on Your Writing by Jillian Grauman
- Find the Best Tools for the Job: Experimenting with Writing Workflows by Derek Van Ittersum and Tim Lockridge
- How Writing Happens by Zack DePiero and Ryan Dippre
- What’s the Diff? Version History and Revision Reflections by Benjamin Miller
- Changing Your Mindset about Revision by L. Lennie Irvin
- Technical, Scientific, and Business Presentations: Strategies for Success by Darina M. Slattery
Public Writing & Advocacy
- Public Writing for Social Change by Ashley J. Holmes
- Make Your “Move”: Writing in Genres by Bad Jacobson, Madelyn Pawlowski, and Christine M. Tardy
- Environmental Justice: Writing Urban Spaces by Mattius Rischard
- How to Write for Global Audiences by Birgitta Meex
Myths & Anxieties
- I Need You to Say “I”: Why First Person is Important in College Writing by Kate McKinney Maddalena
- The Inspired Writer vs. the Real Writer by Sarah Allen
- Ten Ways To Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students by E. Shelley Reid
Multimodal Composition
- An Introduction to and Strategies for Multimodal Composing by Melanie Gagich
- The Rhetorical Possibilities of Accessibility by Rachel Donegan
- Thinking Across Modes and Media (and Baking Cake): Two Techniques for Writing with Video, Audio, and Images by Crystal VanKooten
- Strategies for Analyzing and Composing Data Stories by Angela M. Laflen
- Worth a Thousand Words: Constructing Visual Arguments in Technical Communication by Candice Welhausen
- Technical, Scientific, and Business Presentations: Strategies for Success by Darina M. Slattery
- Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach by Audrey G. Bennett
Reading
- How to Read Like a Writer by Mike Bunn
- Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg
- Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources by Ellen Carillo and Alice Hornin
- Reading in Conversation: A Student’s Guide to Social Annotation by Michelle Sprouse
- Everything’s Biased: A Guide to Determining when Bias Matters by Danielle DeRise
- Strategies for Analyzing and Composing Data Stories by Angela M. Laflen
- Assessing Sources for Technical Communication Research by Therese I Pennell
- Writing Counterstories: Ways to Challenge Dominant Narratives in FYC by Sana Sayed
Reflection & Metacognition
- Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking? by Sandra Giles
- The Importance of Transfer in Your First Year Writing Course by Kara Taczak
- We Write Because We Care: Developing Your Writerly Identity by Glenn Lester, Sydney Doyle, Taylor Lucas, and Alison Overcash
- Dispositions towards Learning by Jennifer Wells
- What’s the Diff? Version History and Revision Reflections by Benjamin Miller
- Changing Your Mindset about Revision by L. Lennie Irvin
Research
- Let’s Party: Composing a Review of the Literature on a Technical Topic by Daniel P. Richards
- Wikipedia Is Good for You!? by James P. Purdy
- Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills by Randall McClure
- Putting Ethnographic Writing in Context by Seth Kahn
- Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews by Dana Lynn Driscoll
- Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources by Ellen Carillo and Alice Horning
- How to Analyze Data in a Primary Research Study by Melody Denny and Lindsay Clark
- At Work in the Archives: Place-Based Research and Writing by Lynée Lewis Gaillet and Jessica Rose
- Creating, Using and Sharing Information in Research Communities by Cassie Hemstrom and Kathy Anders
- “Doing Research Is Fun; Citing Sources Is Not”: Understanding the Fuzzy Definition of Plagiarism by Rachel Buck and Silvia Vaccino-Salvadore
- Assessing Sources for Technical Communication Research by Therese I Pennell
- Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing by Felicia Chong and Tammy Rice-Bailey
- Beyond Audience Analysis: Three Stages of User Experience Research for Technical Writers by Joanna Schreiber
- Who Is the User? Researching Audiences for Technical Documents by Emma J. Rose
Rhetoric & Rhetorical Analysis
- Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis by Laura Bolin Carroll
- Critical Thinking in College Writing: From the Personal to the Academic by Gita DasBender
- Understanding Visual Rhetoric by Jenae Cohn
- Exigency: What Makes My Message Indispensable to My Reader by Quentin Vieregge
- Navigating Genres by Kerry Dirk
- Murder! (Rhetorically Speaking) by Janet Boyd
- The Rhetorical Possibilities of Accessibility by Rachel Donegan
- The Importance of Transfer in Your First Year Writing Course by Kara Taczak
- What Is Rhetoric? A “Choose Your Own Adventure” Primer by William Duffy
- Elaborate Rhetorics by David Blakesley
- Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing by Felicia Chong and Tammy Rice-Bailey
- Beyond Audience Analysis: Three Stages of User Experience Research for Technical Writers by Joanna Schreiber
- Who Is the User? Researching Audiences for Technical Documents by Emma J. Rose
Transfer
- Composition as a Write of Passage by Nathalie Singh-Corcoran
- The Importance of Transfer in Your First Year Writing Course by Kara Taczak
- “I Passed First-Year Writing—What Now?”: Adapting Strategies from First-Year Writing to Writing in the Disciplines by Amy Cicchino
- Dispositions towards Learning by Jennifer Wells
- Writing Science in the First Year of College: Why It Matters to STEM Students and How STEM Students Benefit from It by Christopher Thaiss and Stephanie Wade
Working with Sources
- Assessing Source Credibility for Crafting a Well-Informed Argument by Kate Warrington, Natasha Kovalyova, and Cindy King
- Reading Games: Strategies for Reading Scholarly Sources by Karen Rosenberg
- Annoying Ways People Use Sources by Kyle D. Stedman
- Everything Changes, or Why MLA Isn’t (Always) Right by Janice R. Walker
- Walk, Talk, Cook, Eat: A Guide to Using Sources by Cynthia R. Haller
- Assessing Source Credibility for Crafting a Well-Informed Argument by Kate Warrington, Natasha Kovalyova, and Cindy King
- Composing the Anthology: An Exercise in Patchwriting by Christopher Leary
- Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources by Ellen Carillo and Alice Horning
- At Work in the Archives: Place-Based Research and Writing by Lynée Lewis Gaillet and Jessica Rose
- “Doing Research Is Fun; Citing Sources Is Not”: Understanding the Fuzzy Definition of Plagiarism by Rachel Buck and Silvia Vaccino-Salvadore
- Let’s Party: Composing a Review of the Literature on a Technical Topic by Daniel P. Richards
- Assessing Sources for Technical Communication Research by Therese I Pennell
Usability & User-Centered Design
- Introduction to Usability and Usability Testing by Felicia Chong and Tammy Rice-Bailey
- Composing Technical Documents for Localized Usability in the International Context by Keshab Raj Acharya
- “Not So Fast”: Centering Your Users to Design the Right Solution by Candice Lanius and Ryan Weber
- Beyond Audience Analysis: Three Stages of User Experience Research for Technical Writers by Joanna Schreiber
- Who Is the User? Researching Audiences for Technical Documents by Emma J. Rose
Writing Center
- Why Visit Your Campus Writing Center? by Ben Rafoth