Grow your
writing style.
Become a more confident writer by taking courses on the key principles of academic writing.
Your Academic Writing Guide
The Nature of Writing is a comprehensive writing manual.
Succeed in University
Develop your writing skills and succeed in college and beyond.
Access 110+ Exercises
Reinforce your learning by completing practice exercises.
Improve your Literacy
Improve your digital literacy and research skills.
The Nature of Writing
Access our complete writing guide as a single bundle.
Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech
Parts of the speech are the building blocks of language. Learn how to take apart entire sentences and confidently identify all 8 parts of speech.
CA$4.99
Sentence Structure
Sentence Structure
Become a more stylish writer by learning about the structure of a sentence. The course covers not only the basics of clauses, phrases, and sentence classification, but also introduces advanced stylistic devices such as parataxis and hypotaxis.
CA$4.99
Common Sentence Errors
Common Sentence Errors
Learn how to spot the most common writing errors, from shifts in perspective to misplaced and dangling modifiers.
CA$4.99
Punctuation
Punctuation
Stop guessing where to insert a dash or a semi-colon. By learning how punctuation is directly connected to sentence structure, you will become more purposeful in using punctuation marks effectively.
CA$4.99
Mechanics
Mechanics
Add some polish to your writing by studying our formatting advice. This course covers topics such as capitalization, italics, and using numbers in your writing.
CA$4.99
Essay Writing
Essay Writing
We teach you how to move beyond formulaic approaches to writing. Instead, we want you to craft natural and organic prose. From doing quality research to editing your final draft, this course walks you through the entire essay-writing process.
CA$4.99
Using Quotations
Using Quotations
Integrating quotations is an art. Learn how to introduce the ideas of others in your own writing. Whatever style guide you use (MLA, APA, CMS), this course will teach you how to smoothly integrate and format quotations.
CA$4.99
MLA Citation Style
MLA Citation Style
The MLA citation style (9th edition) is commonly used in Arts courses. Learn how to cite your sources both in the text of your essay and in the final Works Cited.
CA$4.99
APA Citation Style
APA Citation Style
The APA citation style (7th ed.) is commonly used in the social sciences. Learn how to cite your sources properly, whether in the text of your essay or in the final references list.
CA$4.99
CMS Citation Guide
CMS Citation Guide
The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) guidelines (17th ed.) employ footnotes or endnotes, as well as a final bibliography. In this guide we explain the key CMS rules and make note of important variations in Turabian style (a student-friendly version of CMS).
CA$4.99
Fun Writing Exercises
Fun Writing Exercises
Looking for some quirky and unusual writing exercises? Then check out these fun assignments.
free
Resume Writing
Resume Writing
These select lessons are meant to assist students with little job experience in crafting their first resumes.
free
Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of writing and speaking elegantly and persuasively. This short course provides rhetorical tips to make your writing stand out.
free
Beauty and the Sublime
Beauty and the Sublime
This course on literary theory explores the topics of beauty and the sublime by introducing the ideas of two important thinkers: Longinus and Edmund Burke.
free
Common Writing Assignments
Common Writing Assignments
Need to complete a mini-essay, a book review, or an annotated bibliography? Our lessons cover many of the most common writing assignments.
free
Diagnostic Tests
Diagnostic Tests
This is not a course in the traditional sense. This is a series of tests that will help you figure out what aspects of writing you know well and where a little more study may be helpful. Each test covers one of the subjects in our writing guide. Once you're done, simply review your answers to see where you have room for improvement. In addition, if you got the answer right, but you don't really know why, then you will still want to check out the relevant lessons.
CA$4.99
ESL
ESL
The lessons in this course are a supplement to our main writing guide. They provide additional advice and practice in areas where ESL students tend to struggle.
free
Junior High Essay Writing
Junior High Essay Writing
This unique writing module is meant for junior-high students. The lessons guide students through all the stages of writing a research essay on a natural disaster of their choice.
free
Sentence Diagramming 1
Sentence Diagramming 1
Discover the art of diagramming sentences and learn how to take apart and analyze any sentence. Diagramming provides an alternative and fun way to learn about parts of speech and sentence structure.
CA$15
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Some words are commonly confused. Do you know the difference between "effect" and "affect"? Or how to distinguish between "eminent," "imminent," and "immanent"? These lessons will improve your diction and help you avoid some common spelling errors.
free
Writing About Literature
Writing About Literature
This course is meant for English students looking to write more complex essays about literature. Step by step, the lessons introduce different methodological approaches to a single poem (Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"). The course concludes with a sample senior-level essay.
free
Writing Guide Demo
Writing Guide Demo
Want to try out our writing guide? Enroll in our demo course and check out a few sample lessons and exercises.
free
Free Courses
Fun Writing Exercises
Fun Writing Exercises
Looking for some quirky and unusual writing exercises? Then check out these fun assignments.
free
Resume Writing
Resume Writing
These select lessons are meant to assist students with little job experience in crafting their first resumes.
free
Rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of writing and speaking elegantly and persuasively. This short course provides rhetorical tips to make your writing stand out.
free
“The Nature of Writing course is just the course I had been looking to take for quite a while now. It is comprehensive and thorough, easy to navigate, provides quizzes for each section, approachable and all that for a reasonable price. I am an English tutor and knew that I needed to refresh and even update my knowledge of grammar and writing. I would encourage any high school or university student and/or English or ESL teacher to take this course. It is self-paced and you can easily pick up where you left off at any time. I highly recommend this quality course.”
Kimberbly Fremmerlid,
English tutor
English tutor
"The Nature of Writing website provided a concise, well-organized reference for me as an instructor. In particular, the gentle confidence of the video presentation on diverging from the 5-paragraph essay transformed my students’ approaches to university writing."
Jenny Quist,
Author and Sessional Instructor
Author and Sessional Instructor
Copyright © 2024
Created with
