Writing is one of the most common activities in academia – it can also be one of the most frustrating!
Here are some different tools and services that can help take the frustration out of writing, so you can focus on what matters: sharing your knowledge with the world (and citing your sources)!
Citation Management
Zotero
A free citation and research management tool with an add-ins for Word as well as connectors for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Save scholarly journals, research articles, blog posts and more into the preferred citation format of your choice right from your web browser. Later, export a list of your sources directly to Word with a few clicks.
EndNote
UW-Madison Libraries page on EndNote
Create research collections with references to articles, journals, books, etc. and easily export citations as a list or bibliography. Create reference groups and share them with collaborators. Integrates with Word.
This is a paid service, but UW-Madison students can log in and use the Basic level for free as long as they are students.
Mendeley
UW-Madison Libraries page on Mendeley
Mendeley is a web and desktop-based citation manager. With a free version of Mendeley, you receive 2GB of online storage space for PDFs and document attachments and one private group with up to three members.
This is also paid service, but UW-Madison students can log in and use the Basic level for free as long as they are students.
ZoteroBib
Related to Zotero, this tool lets you Enter a book, website, article, or journal and automatically export citations in MLA, APA, Chicago formats and more without having to make an account or download any apps.
Citations live in a temporary list in your browser until you are ready to export them.
Writing Tools and Services
Scrivener
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php
An organizational tool that helps manage and streamline the writing process for long, multi-part papers.
Keep track of research documents, tag, sort, and rearrange parts of your paper without getting lost in the copy-paste trap in Word.
UW-Madison Writing Center
The Writing a free service available to all UW-Madison students offering writing help (editing, style, citations, project management, etc.) for any writing project (even things like grant proposals and applications).
UW Libraries and Library Search
https://search.library.wisc.edu/
The libraries on campus have a huge number of resources students can check out or reference – books, multimedia, video games, even LPs – and give you tools to make it easy to find what you need. You can also get real-time help from a librarian via chat, phone, or in-person.
The Catalog/Article/Database/Journal Search tools make it easy to find books and articles related to your research topic. You can filter by peer-reviewed, online access, full-text-only, and more, and retrieve many sources and databases right from your browser via NetID.
UW-Madison Ask A Librarian
https://www.library.wisc.edu/help/
Get on-demand help from a real person – who also happens to be a librarian! They can help you search for resources for class assignments, personal projects, or just to satisfy your curiosity.
It’s not limited to just library materials, either – they can help you find all kinds of information online, including suggestions for sites and resources that may help you find what you are looking for.
Grammarly
Avoid common grammar mistakes, incorrect word choice (loose vs. lose, their/they’re/there, your/you’re etc.) when writing email, social media posts, messages, etc. Also a great way to find awkward phrasing, missed words, and other easy-to-miss writing issues.
