There are several Power Points about the writing process as far as essays are concerned. Take a look at this great online tutorial courtesy of Penn State.  You can find lists of topics, links to researching through online databases, locating resources, instructions on citations and questions to help you evaluate your project. Here’s a nice resource where you can learn about the different types of information available and their timeline from Northwest Missouri State University. When writing in Microsoft Word always have Readability Statistics engaged.  For instructions go to Mr. Joyet's resource page.  Spell check your work, and use a dictionary whenever writing, this one is also fun!  The thesaurus can also help you grow your vocabulary. In case you were considering writing some compound, or compound-complex sentences, here are a few friends you might need:       Coordinating conjunctions: and      but       for       or         nor       so         yet Subordinating conjunctions: after                as soon as                    how                             whenever                     unless              although                      if                                  as though        than                 until                             as                                 because that                  provided that              when                            as if before              since                            though                         while Engaging Readability Statistics   Writing essays is not like speaking.  You want to use formal English when writing essays.  In order to help you do this with Microsoft Word adjust the Spell Check and engage Readability Statistics.  You can use Readability Statistics and Spell Check like a game, when: composing, revising, changing word choices and sentence structure, to bring up your Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level, that’s the grade level at which your text is written.  To enable this great built-in tool follow these simple instructions and then have fun writing and seeing at what grade level you are composing. Go to: Tools, then select: Options. Click on the Tab marked: Spelling and Grammar. Check the box: Show Readability Statistics.   In this same tab, under writing style select: Formal.  Click: OK.