The University of Aukland’s Referen©ite won the 2007 Outstanding Academic Integrity Resource Award — and for good reason.  It has excellent student-friendly presentations that explain why citation is so valuable.  It also has tools that walk writers through the steps of the referencing process.  There’s much more to this welcoming, up to date, and well-researched resource. 

Here’s what the creators say about it:

The main purpose of Referen©ite is to encourage students to correctly reference the sources they use in written work. To do this, it:

• Promotes the meaningfulness of the practice: it is not mere institutional compliance - the values at the core of the practice are shared across cultures;
• Provides tools and information to make correct referencing sources significantly easier - to virtually eliminate any excuse that it is too difficult or confusing.
• Provides 24/7 access to referencing information via a single simple url (www.cite.auckland.ac.nz); through the site’s own content and also by acting as a central ‘hub’ for excellent online referencing resources.

Highly recommended! 

For Faculty:

The WAC Clearinghouse has an excellent Teaching Exchange for faculty in any discipline who are looking for ideas to adapt to their classrooms and teaching goals.

A few stand-outs:

• a ”math autobiography” from the lesson plans section,
• a ”Question-Hypothesis-Question” (QHQ) learning activity appropriate for many fields
• a ”Research Guide to the Major” from the formal writing assignments section

Some of the ideas, such as the math autobiography, ask students to reflect on their past learning in writing.  Others, such as the QHQ activity,  habituate students to effective thinking strategies for their academic work.  Assignments such as the research guide or the Cutting Edge Issue  position students as developing experts by asking them to advise less experienced students on a disciplinary issue. 

Browsing the Teaching Exchange is quite inspiring, and you can also become a contributor if you join the WAC Clearinghouse.

 Thought I’d share some of the comments students have written recently about their tutoring sessions. 

“This is my second house.  I Love it.  I am getting better.  My writing is getting better.  Thank you.”

“It was a great help to throw ideas back and forth with someone who gives an honest opinion.”

“Everyone is really nice, helpful, and positive.”

“I was clueless at beginning, now I have a topic, claim, and sense of where the paper can go.”

“Now that I’ve been once, I’ll think about using the center more often!”

“Wish I hadn’t come here for the first time as a senior.”

“Thank you for not being afraid to point out where I need work.”

“It was a great experience.  I have a better direction for my paper.”

“I never feel like I NEED to come here but I always get a lot out of it when I do!”