When I was an undergraduate, I used to think that the teachers who insisted that we stick to a certain format (for biblio, notes, etc.) were just bores and had nothing better to do with their time. Now, when I’ve read a few “freely-formatted” student’s reports and papers, I realize how distracting, unprofessional and confusing it may be.
I know that there are all kinds of printed guides for each style, but I didn’t want to tell my students that they need to buy them and read through the whole thing. So, with the help of Google, I found a site by Diana Hacker that presents MLA, APA, Chicago and CPE formats quite clearly and conveniently. It allowed me to make a quick resume of the relevant format for students, and I also referred them to this site, in case they have more specific issues. I must admit, I didn’t do a very extensive search, so there might be a better source with formatting guidelines out there. So, if anyone knows about it, feel free to share 
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What’s in a format?
Technology and Second Language Writing
I just looked over “Changing Currents in Second Language Writing Research: A Colloquium.” Since many CUNY students are second language (SL) learners, I think it is quite appropriate to our work.
One of the chapters talks about the relationship of technology to SL writing, and about integration of technology into the SL writing classrooms. The author, Mark Warschauer, is generally favorable toward this integration. I agree with some points, like the idea that when you have to put your comments in writing rather than say them out loud, you tend to use more complex language, and it promotees “more equal student participation”. On the other hand, it seems to me that another argument he gives in favor of the integration of technology, namely “incorporation of linguistic chunks” by students in their own writing mostly promotes laziness. I think that students tend to rely on copying and pasting too much as is. And when they are given a chance to do it so easily, many of them wouldn’t feel the need to think about their mistakes, and might even be encouraged to plagiarize.
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