Graduate-level writing is central to your success in INFO 200 and in your broader academic and professional journey. Whether you are new to scholarly writing or returning after time away from school, this module introduces key expectations and strategies to help you write clearly, analytically, and ethically.
INFO 200 emphasizes synthesis, research, and reflection. You’ll be writing Blog Reports, an Information Sources Survey, and a major research paper—all of which require clear academic communication. This page highlights resources from the SJSU Writing Center’s Graduate Writer Toolbox, a valuable site designed just for graduate students like you.
Explore the following categories and tools to strengthen your writing.
Your starting point for writing help tailored to graduate work.
Please take some time to explore the valuable resources on the Writing Advice page of the Graduate Writer Toolbox. These materials are designed to help you build confidence and skill in your writing process. Begin by reviewing the Writing Triangle, a helpful framework for developing clear, focused academic writing. Then, read through the Creating Easy-to-Read Sentences and Creating Easy-to-Read Paragraphs documents—these offer concrete strategies for making your writing more readable and effective at the graduate level. Be sure to also watch a few of the short videos, such as Common Grammar and Punctuation Errors, Revising for Clarity: Subjects and Verbs, and Muscle Verbs for Good Writing. Each provides quick, focused instruction to strengthen your writing mechanics and style.
The Academic Language section focuses on developing the tone, clarity, and structure expected in graduate-level writing. Explore strategies for avoiding informal language, using objective tone, and replacing vague or casual phrasing with precise, academic vocabulary. This page also includes examples of how to revise sentences to sound more scholarly—an essential skill for writing your INFO 200 assignments with professionalism and authority.
Video Workshops from the University Writing Center
This curated playlist from the University Writing Center offers clear guidance on key aspects of academic writing, including thesis development, paragraph structure, evidence use, and plagiarism. These brief, practical tutorials support INFO 200 students as they refine writing for Blog Reports, assignments, and the final research paper. Use them throughout the writing process to strengthen clarity, organization, and scholarly tone.
The Research Papers section provides essential guidance for planning, writing, and revising graduate-level research assignments. Along with tips on organizing your paper and using evidence effectively, be sure to watch the video on how to read research articles—a valuable resource for developing strategies to engage with scholarly sources more efficiently and critically. These tools will support you as you begin gathering and analyzing materials for your INFO 200 research paper.
Important Note on Thesis Statements for INFO 200
Many academic writing resources discuss how to craft a thesis statement, often focusing on argument-driven or persuasive writing. However, INFO 200 uses a prescriptive structure for the final paper, which is a literature review and synthesis, not a traditional argumentative essay.
Your thesis should reflect the course’s specific purpose: to explore and synthesize research about an information community. Instead of taking a position or making a claim, your thesis should clearly state the focus of your research and guide your exploration of sources.
A strong INFO 200 thesis might look like this:
“What are the information behaviors and needs of [your chosen community], and how are libraries and information centers providing or updating services to meet those needs?”
Keep this framing in mind as you gather sources, write Blog Reports, and begin drafting your paper.