top of page

Louis Hoffman

PHD, Professor

University of Denver

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Saybrook University

International Institute for Existential-Humanistic Psychology

Existential Humanistic Institute

University of Denver

Saybrook University

Writing Videos

I developed a number of writing videos to aid in providing feedback to students and helping students succeed in courses that I teach. A list of these videos with links is provided here.

Critical Thinking & Scholarly Writing

My Approach to Grading Papers
& Providing Feedback

Critical Thinking
& Online Classroom Discussion

Scholarly Resources in Academic Writing

Writing Resources

Scholarly or academic writing is an important skill for graduate students and scholars. As a graduate school professor, it is evident that many students who are good critical thinkers and good writers still struggle in scholarly writing.

Often the struggle is simply adjusting to writing a doctorate level. Below are a number of resources that I recommend regularly to students and scholars who are trying to master academic writing.

Tip for my students: I keep this page open when grading papers so I can quickly cut and paste the links from this page into students papers. If you are familiar with these sources, you may be able to save both of us quite a bit of time!

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
- The link here is to the section of Purdue’s writing lab on APA style; however, they have many other valuable resources you may want to peruse and bookmark. Below are some links to specific OWL pages I refer to students often.
APA Style Essentials by Dr. Douglas Degelman
- This is a great quick cheat sheet for many APA style basics.

Grammar Girl
- Grammar Girl is a great resource for grammar questions. Below is my most common Grammar Girl referral:
  - That Versus Which

APA Style

This is the American Psychological Association’s site for APA style. While obviously they would like everyone to buy the APA Style Manual, they do have many nice resources here as well. Below are some of my most common referrals to APAstyle.org:

Writing with Pen

Additional Resources

Welcome, singular “they” (APA Style Blog
- The use of “she or he” is out, “they” is in. This has been debated in academic writing circles for a while; however, in 2019 more dictionaries and academic writing styles have begun endorsing the use of the singular they to be more inclusive of non-binary individuals and others who identify with other gender pronouns besides she or he.
Gendered Language and the Historical Context
- This is a link to an article on the APA Style Blog on how to handle gendered language in quotes. Because it can potentially change the meaning, as of now APA style requires to leave gendered language in the quotes that would now be written in gender-inclusive language.
Purdue Writing Lab: Independent and Dependent Clauses
Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism and Fair Use
- This resource is written for scholars publishing their work; however, it applies to students as well. In most academic programs there are clear policies prohibiting self-plagiarism as well as plagiarism. Most colleges and universities now use resources such as TurnItIn.com that readily identify plagiarism and self-plagiarism. The consequences for violating these policies vary, but can be quite strict, including some schools having a zero tolerance policy. You are investing large amounts of money and time in your education; it is best to make sure that every paper you write is an original piece of your own work. Do not risk your professional future by recycling papers.

Critical Thinking Videos

Critical Thinking in Scholarly Writing (Video) by Louis Hoffman
This video was originally created for a class I designed; however, it covers many important basics of scholarly writing and critical thinking, including information on how to reference in APA style. If taking a class with me I highly recommend you view this video. It gives you some tips on my approach to grading papers as well.

Critical Thinking in Online Classroom Participation (Video) by Louis Hoffman
Discussion in online classrooms is increasingly a common component of college and graduate school education. This is a form of scholarly writing/communication; however, it is different than writing an essay or scholarly paper. Although there is great variability in what professors expect in online classroom discussion, this video provides an overview of some important aspects of online classroom discussion. If taking a course with me it will be particularly relevant.

bottom of page