There are many good sources for assistance with writing, but I want to call attention to two.
First, there is the Writing Center at the U of MN. "Student Writing Support provides free writing instruction for all University of Minnesota students -- graduate and undergraduate -- at all stages of the writing process." Take advantage of working with the Writing Center to polish your papers.
Here is the link.
I have also become aware of a professional writing service that seems to specialize in working with people for whom English is not their first language. This is a commercial service; I have not used it, nor can I attest to its effectiveness. But a colleague who edits a journal mentioned it to me. It is called Professional Writing Services, and here is the link. Again, this mention should not be viewed as an endorsement - I have simply noted that it might be a possible resource.
Posted by hgroteva at April 14, 2007 6:45 PMI did not mean to be lazy...(This is a short message, that I know. And the link is familiar to me.) I just want to resonate. For a 2nd language speaker, writing is the most challenging part. Given that it is the most vital mission in higher education. My anxiety builds up easily in every writing assignment. The most frustration is: not being able to fully express my ideas and/or saying things that do not make sense to others. I am the one who benifits from the service provided by writing center. (The only complaint is its limited availability.) I normally use the resources for proofreading my papers instead of asking for further help. They are respectful toward your thinking and your discipline (culture, too). Bear with me if I confuse you in my writing of this.
Posted by: Shuling Peng at January 24, 2008 3:22 PMShuling, thank you for your insight! Now I realize the in-person comments would be more productive. Before I have used some on-line resources such as http://owl.english.purdue.edu/. The web-site is easy to navigate. Here are some sections that might be useful: Writing in Social Science and Internet Literacy. They also have ESL (English as a Second Language) section, which I find very helpful since it includes also grammar review (articles, verbs etc.).
Posted by: Polina at January 28, 2008 12:12 PMI have known about this site and center since last semester, but I do never use it. As a foreign student, working in English(writing, speaking, listening and so on) is absolutely difficult to me. So, this site and center are very useful for me and many foreign students. This semester, I hope that I will use this site for my papers, and so my english writing skill will be more improved than before.
Posted by: Chanran at January 28, 2008 12:30 PM