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Guide to Grammar and Writing
Digital handouts on grammar and English usage. From subject-verb agreement and use of articles to exercises in parallel structures and argumentative essays. You can submit questions about grammar and writing.
http://webster.commnet.edu/hp/pages/darling/original.htm |
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CBC News: Words, Woe & Wonder
An in-depth look at the words we use from CBC News.
http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/ |
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Word Quests
Word lists that provide thematic units of English words derived from Latin and Greek sources.
http://www.wordquests.info |
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What is Good Hypertext Writing?
There is more to writing than putting words next to each other, and there is more to writing hypertext than throwing together a bunch of links. By Julia Degener.
http://kbs.cs.tu-berlin.de/~jutta/ht/writing.html |
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The Economist's Style Guide
Entertaining and instructive in-house guide to writing and usage.
http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/index.cfm |
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Guides for Better Science Writing
Bibliography of style manuals for scientific research, writing, and presentation. Guides for biology, medicine, chemistry, engineering, geology, and mathematics.
http://www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/14-05.html |
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World Wide Words
Explores the history, evolution byways, quirks, and curiosities of the English language. New and recent words and phrases are often featured, as are books on aspects of English. A weekly newsletter is sent by e-mail and RSS.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/ |
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Garbl's Editorial Style Manual
Provides advice on abbreviations, capitalization, grammar, numbers, plurals, possessives, punctuation, spelling and word usage.
http://garbl.home.comcast.net/stylemanual/ |
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Guide to Grammar and Style
The information ranges from copy editing to elements of style to discussions. Practical information about the writing craft.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/ |
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Plain English Campaign
An independent group fighting for plain English in public communication. We oppose gobbledygook, jargon and legalese.
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/ |
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Verbivore
Richard Lederer's page, with contact information and a handful of his language-loving articles.
http://pw1.netcom.com/%7erlederer/index.htm |
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Cliche Finder
Special tool word-searches 3,300 cliches.
http://www.westegg.com/cliche/ |
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How to Write an Explication
Step-by-step directions to writing an explication. Good and bad examples provided.
http://www.geocities.com/lrampey/2131/explicate.htm |
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Phrases Thesaurus
A generator of headlines and copy for journalists. Enter a word and the database is searched to provide a list of phrases related to that word.
http://www.phrasefinder.co.uk |
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SoYouWanna Avoid Common Writing Errors
We compiled a list of the most common writing errors people tend to make. This is not a primer on grammar or essay-writing. This is a checklist of things which you might well do and which you must stop doing.
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/wrerrors/wrerrors.html |
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Frequently Asked Questions about English
Answers to common questions about usage, style, grammar and punctuation.
http://www.alexcommunications.com/faq.htm |
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Good Grammar, Good Style
Articles and answers to frequently asked questions about grammar, mechanics, and style. Links and bibliography.
http://www.protrainco.com/info/grammar.htm |
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Bartleby.com: Strunk's Element of Style (1918)
For use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style.
http://www.bartleby.com/141/ |
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A.Word.ADay
The music and magic of words. This is the website for the mailing list A.Word.A.Day (AWAD), which sends a vocabulary word and its definition to the subscribers every day.
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html |
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Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Help in discovering, organizing, revising, and editing informal, thesis, argumentative, and exploratory essays.
http://www.powa.org/ |
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Cliche Site
Clichés, sayings or phrases listed with definitions and explanations. Clichés are organized by subject and alphabetically and you can use the search function.
http://www.clichesite.com/index.asp |
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Online Classes in Rhetoric, University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota offers a number of Internet correspondence courses in rhetoric. Sign up here.
http://www.rhetoric.umn.edu/ |
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E-dition: Dictionary of Concise Writing
A look at word usage in popular culture. The Dictionary of Concision is a complete manual of several thousand wordy phrases.
http://www.e-dition.net/dictionary.html |
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NLRB Style Manual
A guide for legal writing in plain English.
http://www.nlrb.gov/nlrb/legal/manuals/stylemanual.asp |
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Yale Style Manual
For the design of Web pages and Web sites. Covers graphic and information design, page layout, Web graphics, site organization, navigation, and Web multimedia content.
http://www.webstyleguide.com/ |
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Focusing on Words
Subscription-based site for vocabulary development, showcasing the Latin and Greek roots of English words.
http://www.wordfocus.com/ |
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Wordiness
A list of words and phrases to purge from your writing.
http://web.uvic.ca/~gkblank/wordiness.html |
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The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
Popular, award-winning online writing guide. Authoritative help with research, style, structure, major citation styles, mechanics, and revision.
http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com |
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Findaphrase.com
Free phrase database to help journalists, copywriters and content editors search common phrases.
http://www.findaphrase.com/ |
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The Wonderful Writing Skills Unhandbook
An interactive site that uses the writing process to teach writing skills.
http://www.wonderfulwritingskillsunhandbook.com/ |
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Logophilia
The word lover's web site by Paul McFedries.
http://www.logophilia.com/logophilia.html |
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The Word Centre
Consulting firm dedicated to training businesses to use plain English. Free newsletter and professional editing services.
http://www.wordcentre.co.uk |
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Grammar Slammer
This help file indexes style and usage, capitalization, abbreviations, punctuation, letter writing, common mistakes and a grammar glossary.
http://englishplus.com/grammar/index.htm |
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NoodleBib - The MLA Bibliography Composer
A free tool to create, edit, and save your MLA-style bibliography online, then publish it to a Web page, email it, or save it as RTF and open it in Microsoft Word.
http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/ |
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Dr. NAD's Prig Page.
Tests of usage, built interactively.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5229/p_.htm |
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Einfoweb: Punctuation and Grammar
Help on punctuation and another page on grammar.
http://www.einfoweb.com/punctuation/ |
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That's Right Words
Articles about grammar information and hints. New Zealand site. Errs on the side of "correctness," not that of modern usage.
http://www.rightwords.co.nz/backnews.html |
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Rhetorical Figures
From alliteration to zeugma, and everything in between, all the figures of speech are here.
http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/rhetoric.html |
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Word Fugitives
An interactive column by The Atlantic's Barbara Wallraff. Discovers needs in our language and recommends new words to fill them.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/fugitives/index.htm |
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Cliche
List of 2000 English cliches with some statistical and literary notes on their use.
http://www.angelfire.com/nd/danscorpio/word3.html |
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Adding Value to your Links
A bulleted guide to using links effectively in hypertext writing.
http://www.robotwisdom.com/web/value.html |
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The Cool Word of the Day Page
From York University in Toronto, Canada.
http://www.edu.yorku.ca/~wotd/ |
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The Book of Cliches
A compilation of common phrases, euphemisms, and rationales for times of trouble. Organized by occasion.
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/sybev/cliche/ |
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A Research Guide for Students
How to write research papers, and do presentations. Virtual library of links arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification.
http://www.aresearchguide.com/index.html |
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Suite 101: Communications Skills
Archive of articles covering writing and speaking skills, with emphasis on clear communication, basic design, communicating with international and multicultural audiences.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/communications_skills |
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11 Rules of Writing
Concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar.
http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/ |
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Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature
Bimonthly publication, SPELL/Binder, contains articles on grammar, usage, word origins, and other subjects of interest to language lovers.
http://www.mindspring.com/~spellorg/ |
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AskOxford.com
For questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage. Search a dictionary of words, names or quotations.
http://www.askoxford.com/ |
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Writing For Multimedia
Style guide for multimedia.
http://home.earthlink.net/~atomic_rom/contents.htm |
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Glossarist.com
A searchable directory of thousands of glossaries and topical dictionaries containing terms and definitions on hundreds of subjects.
http://www.glossarist.com/ |
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Wired Style
Notes on the emerging language of technology. Reference and discussion tool. Last updated 1997.
http://hotwired.wired.com/hardwired/wiredstyle/ |
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Suite101: English Grammar and Style
Archive of articles about English grammar and style.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/english_grammar_style |
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Bartleby.com: The Columbia Guide to Standard American English
Kenneth G. Wilson's handbook includes descriptive and prescriptive examples with hyperlinked cross-references.
http://www.bartleby.com/68/ |
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Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association is the official guide to non-fiction writing. The site includes a guide to MLA style.
http://www.mla.org |
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Dan Kurland's Criticalreading.com
Explains the fundamentals of critical reading and writing. Offers a way to recognize what a text "says," what a text "does," and what a text "means" by analyzing choices of content, language, and structure.
http://www.critical-reading.com |
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Macedon's Taberna: The Craft of Writing
Only 10% of writing is talent (maybe less), another 30% is having something interesting to say. The rest is being able to say it well. Talent and content amount to little without skill, and skill is what we learn.
http://members.aol.com/MacedonPg/writing.htm |
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Acronym Finder
Searchable database of 80,000+ acronyms and meanings. Covers: common acronyms, computers, technology, government, telecommunications, and military acronyms.
http://www.AcronymFinder.com/ |
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Common Errors in English
Catalogue of writing or speaking mistakes and easily confusable words, with corrections.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/ |
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WordWizard
Portal for word lovers. Learn about word meanings, slang, quotations, insults, and famous authors. Wordwizard offers a round trip across the English language.
http://www.wordwizard.com/ |
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The Sports Cliche List
A large, searchable collection of sports cliches, lingo, and jargon.
http://www.sportscliche.com |
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Exploring English
An online tutorial for the parts of speech with style notes for the English Language.
http://www.shared-visions.com/explore/english/ |
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The Tongue Untied
Grammar, punctuation and style for journalists.
http://grammar.uoregon.edu/ |
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Plain Language Action Network
Promoting clearer communication between the public and government. This site has resources for writers to attain that goal.
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/ |
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Top20Composition.com
Online directory for grammar, spelling, punctuation, research, creative writing, and proofreading resources.
http://www.top20composition.com |
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Verbage
If you are looking for just the right word, you may find it here. If not, you can suggest your own.
http://www.oceansiderevolution.com/verbage |
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A Word With You
A daily on-line column, featuring little known facts about well known words and phrases.
http://www.wordwithyou.com/ |
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Deadwood Phrases
Prune the deadwood phrases from your writing. Site lists the worst from A to Z.
http://www.pnl.gov/ag/usage/deadwood.html |
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Word Lab
A message board where you can request and brainstorm unique words, names, titles, coinages, puns, phrases, slogans and slang.
http://www.wordlab.com/ |
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Pseudo Dictionary
The dictionary for words that wouldn't make it into dictionaries.
http://www.pseudodictionary.com/index.php |
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American English
Canadian-American/British translation. Notes on American English, British English, and Canadian English, in spelling and word choice.
http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html |
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AmeriSpeak
"Expressions of our American ancestors." The colorful slang of Americans of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/amerispeak.htm |
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Language Wrangler
Provocative essays on word usage, writing ideas and style.
http://www.languagewrangler.com/ |
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APA Style
Official American Psychological Association site includes frequently asked questions, guidelines for electronic media citations and spelling and ordering information.
http://www.apastyle.org/ |
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Linguistic Phenomena/Devices
A list of lesser-known features in English writing. Hendiadys, holonyms, and hypernyms.
http://www.csi.uottawa.ca/~kbarker/ling-devices.html |
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The Visual Thesaurus
An exploration of sense relationships within the English language. By clicking on words, you follow a thread of meaning, creating a spatial map of linguistic associations.
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/online/index.html |
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Words, Words, and More Words
Discussions and articles concerning words.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/words |
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KCI: Reader Based Writing Style Guide
Designed to help you bulletproof your writing. Extensive, alphabetical index of points of style.
http://www.kanten.com/styleguide/frames1.html |
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The Philosophy of Punctuation
Paul Robinson's classic essay on periods, commas, semicolons, dashes.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/721833.html |
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SecretariesUSA.com
Reference for the home and corporate office, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, sentence structure, forms of address, abbreviations, letter styles, and business forms.
http://secretariesUSA.com |
Additional
Information: Style guides are used by writers to keep up with changes to the language. Also for improving their own use of the language (words, phrases and grammar) in their writing. Often newspapers put out a style guide for their writers and editors.
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