Topical Links Library for the Business Writer's Handbook
Business Writing Forms and Elements
Finding a Job
Workplace Technology
Planning and Research
Organization, Writing, and Revision
Design and Visuals
ESL Trouble Spots
Style and Language
Sentences and Paragraphs
Parts of Speech and Grammar
Punctuation and Mechanics
Business Writing Forms and Elements
abstracts
How to Write an Abstract
Phil Koopman, Carnegie Mellon University
This site offers a brief point-by-point description of how to write an
abstract suitable for a conference paper or journal article and offers
suggestions for further reading.
Writing
Abstracts
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of the abstract, including an abstract
sample, written by Judith Kilborn.
The Writing Center Guide to Writing an
Abstract
University Writing Center, George Mason University
This site offers a brief guide to understanding and writing an
abstract.
Writing Up Research: The
Abstract
Asian Institute of Technology, AIT Extension
This site presents a guide to writing abstracts, including common problems,
the differences between abstracts and introductions, and two sample
abstracts.
acknowledgment letters
Correspondence
Career Center, Pennsylvania State University
This site offers the correspondence section of Career Recruitment Media,
Inc.'s Placement Manualwith tips on how to write cover letters,
thank-you letters, and other types of job search
correspondence.
Sample Business Letters
4hb.com
This Entrepreneur's "For Home Business" Information Web site, sponsored by
Capella Systems Group, Inc., has an alphabetical listing of over 550 sample
business letters covering a wide range of needs and
situations.
adjustment letters
Business Letter Writing: Claim Adjustment
Letters
About.com
Part of the Homework Help Web site, this page, presented by Kenneth Beare, is
designed to help the student of English as a second language understand typical
business correspondence in English by offering sample letters.
annual reports
Annual Reports, etc.
Arthur Darby, author
This site lists Internet links related to annual reports, business writing,
and technical writing.
Report Gallery
Cornerstone Investor Relations
The Report Gallery is a comprehensive and up-to-date listing of annual
reports and related financial reports online.
appendixes
Appendices
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
Part of a site featuring writing guidelines for science and engineering
students, this Web page covers laboratory reports in general and includes an
explanation of appendices and a sample appendix link.
Appendices
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of
the West of England, Bristol
This Web page offers a guide to the form, content, and style of student
project reports and includes a section on appendices.
Appendixes
The Technical Report
On this site, author B. Barclay presents notes on how to handle an
appendix.
brochures
Eight Sure-Fire Steps to Better
Brochures
RMR & Associates, Inc.
Part of the RMR Marketing Advisor Web site, this Web page offers eight
techniques designed to make brochures more successful.
How to Make a Super Brochure or Mailing
Piece
PrintingForLess.com
This site offers eleven tips for making brochures and mailers more
effective.
Sample Brochures
Debra Jason, The Write Direction
This Web site supporting a small freelance marketing consultant's business
offers samples of her marketing products including brochures, mailers, catalogs,
and newsletters.
Ten Tips for Better Brochures
The Write Concept, Inc.
This site presents ten tips for more effective
brochures.
business plans
An Introduction to Business
Plans
Entrepreneur.com
This site presents a brief overview of business plans including elements of a
plan, types of plans, and who needs them.
Bplans.com
Palo Alto Software, Inc.
This site from a maker of business software offers numerous sample business
plans for online viewing.
Business Plan
Resources
Business Plan Software
This page offers information to help managers and business owners define,
create, and write business plans.
Business Planning—Creating
Plans
BusinessTown.com
This page offers links to information on topics in business planning as well
as Web resources for writing business plans.
Business Plans and
Strategy
About.com
This site provides links to resources for writing business plans including
planning templates, downloads, reviews, and advice.
Center for Business Planning
BRS Software, Inc.
This site offers links to a variety of business planning resources and sample
business plans.
collection letters
Collection Letters
Credit Guru.com
This site lists points to be included in a letter of collection and includes
sample letters.
Extending Credit, Sample Documents: Debt
Collection
FindLaw Resources
This downloadable online document features sample collection
letters.
Sample Collection Letters
Business Owner's Toolkit, CCH Incorporated
Sample collection letters are available on this site as templates that can be
adapted and saved by the user.
complaint letters
Business Correspondence: Complaint and
Adjustment Letters
Online Technical Writing, David A. McMurrey, Author
The business correspondence section of an online textbook for technical
writing by author David A. McMurrey, this site offers tips for writing complaint
and adjustment letters including links to annotated example
letters.
correspondence
Business Writing
Language Centre, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
A self-help-style online leaflet directed at ESL students, this site offers
guidance and tips related to business writing.
Correspondence: Letters and
Memos
Professor Jeffrey Lockledge, Wayne State College of Engineering
This site offers a succinct guide to all aspects of writing business letters,
memos, and e-mail messages.
Writing Business Letters That Get the Job
Done
Writing Help Central
Shawn Fawcett offers advice on writing business letters on this
site.
cover letters
Cover Letters and Business
Correspondence
Weston Career Resources Center, Washington University
Sponsored by the Olin School of Business, this career resources site is
geared toward the job seeker, offering advice about and samples of cover letters
and thank-you letters.
description
Methods of
Development—Description
English Department, San Antonio College
This Web site offers a review of the description method of development taken
from Aristotle's writings.
Writing
Descriptions
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a discussion of principles, conventions, and strategies for
writing descriptions.
executive summaries
Executive
Summaries
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This site offers a comprehensive overview of executive summaries, including
examples and links to additional resources.
Executive Summaries Complete the
Report
C. Jay Christensen, California State University, Northridge
This site presents online class materials covering all aspects of writing an
executive summary.
feasibility reports
Comparative Feasibility Report Outline
Northern Illinois University English
Department
This site features an outline for a comparative feasibility
report.
form letters
Form Letters: The Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly
Claims Magazine
This site features author Gary Blake's article discussing the various
problems he typically finds in form letters used by claims
companies.
formal reports
Formal
Reports
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
Part of the online Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science
Studentsworkbook, this site features a discussion of different types of
formal reports and links to samples.
Writing Formal Reports
Technical Writing Center, Washington University in St. Louis
James C. Ballard's helpful article, which is a lighthearted but serious guide
to all aspect of writing formal reports, is available on this Web
site.
Writing Formal
Reports
School of Business, Clayton College and State University
This site features an outline for a formal business
report.
forms design
Forms That Work
Effortmark, Ltd. and Information and Design
Caroline Jarrett and Gerry Gaffney manage this Web site that offers advice on
forms problems, links to papers and presentations on forms design, and other
related resources.
Forms to Get Data from Your
Readers
Unesco
This Web page is part of an online course designed by Guy Levy and Judy Koren
and offers guidance on creating forms for Web pages.
Web Page
Forms
4tips.com
This site features links to information, tutorials, and tips on how to design
forms and install them on Web pages.
global communication
Intercultural Communication
Pellissippi State Technical Community College
This site offers insights on the difficulties of translating connotative
versus denotative meanings across languages. The material is summarized from
Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Othersby Steven A. Beebe, Susan
J. Beebe, and Mark V. Redmond.
Intercultural Press, Inc.
Intercultural Press is a source of publications aimed at specific cultures
and covering a wide variety of subjects, from cross-cultural theory to
international business.
Country Studies
The Library of Congress
This site presents information on the economic, social, and political
institutions of over 100 countries and regions.
Universal Usability in Practice: Users from Other Cultures
than the U.S.
Eiman M. Elnahrawy, Author, University of Maryland
This site features an article on recommendations and guidelines for Web site
developers about accommodating diverse users, in particular, users from cultures
other than the U.S.
International Affairs Resources
The WWW Virtual Library
This well-organized portal provides access to over 2,000 selected and
annotated links.
headers and footers
Sections, Section Breaks, Headers and
Footers
The Social Law Library, Boston, MA
This legal resources site sponsors a link to the Microsoft Word® "Legal
User's Guide." This section of the guide explains how to use the sections,
section breaks, headers and footers functions in Microsoft Word.
Word Tips and Tricks: Headers and
Footers
Department of Technical Communication, University of Washington
This site offers tips and tricks for using the headers and footers functions
in Microsoft Word.
Word Tips Online Answers: Headers and
Footers
Discovery Computing, Inc.
This site features links to various articles about using the header and
footer functions in Microsoft Word.
indexing
Creating an Index
Klariti
This site offers technical documentation, online help and business writing
services including this guide to creating an index.
Creating an Index in Word
97
Academic Computing and Communications Center, University of Illinois at
Chicago
This online handout describes how to create an index in Microsoft Word
97.
inquiries and responses
Business Correspondence—Inquiry
Letters
Online Technical Writing, David A. McMurrey, Author
The business correspondence section of an online textbook for technical
writing by author David A. McMurrey, this site offers tips for writing inquiry
letters and includes samples.
instructions
How to Write Instructions
Dr. Mary Ellen Guffy, Author
This site offers student-oriented step-by-step guidelines for writing an
effective set of instructions.
Online Technical Writing:
Instructions
Elizabeth City State University
This site features tips for writing and formatting a set of step-by-step
instructions.
international correspondence
Communication Across Cultures: Lecture Handouts and Related
Links
Dr. Daradirek "Gee" Ekachai, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
This site provides links to lecture handouts on the topic of intercultural
communication.
Google International Business and Trade
Directory
This is an excellent starting point for searching the Web for information
related to customs, communication, and international standards.
International
Netiquette
Leith O'Malley, Netiquette Guide
A simple and friendly guide to etiquette on the Internet, this site discusses
some issues that cross cultures such as contact information, humor, and
ethnocentrism.
investigative reports
Investigative Report Tips for Private
Investigators
Council of International Investigators (CII)
On this site, Robert Hyman offers three steps plus additional tips for
writing a professional, easy-to-understand investigative report.
Investigative Report
Writing
The Private Investigator's Mall
Leilani F. Canella presents 12 tips on how to write a clear, professional
investigative report.
job descriptions
Guide to Writing Job
Descriptions
Personnel Department, UCLA
This site offers guidelines and resources for analyzing jobs and writing job
descriptions.
Guidelines for Writing Job
Descriptions
Human Resources, Rice University
This Web page offers succinct guidelines for defining the essential elements
of a job and writing a job description.
Writing Job Descriptions for Small
Businesses
Ohio State University
This university fact sheet written by James R. Lindner explains job analysis
and offers a sample job description.
meetings
Conducting Business Meetings
Online
Robin Nobles, Author
This online article reviews software and Web sites that facilitate online
business meetings.
memos
How to Write
Memos!
English Works!, Gallaudet University
This site offers an online handout with tips for writing memos excerpted from
Quick, Take This Memoby Neil Chesanow.
Memos
The Writing Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Dan Murphy presents this online handout describing the format, content, and
style of the memo.
When Should You Write
Memos?
Department of Agricultural Information Science and Education, Mississippi
State University
This site features a short list of situations delineating when a memo is and
is not appropriate.
minutes of meetings
Keeping Board Minutes
About.com
Stan Hutton offers tips on the essentials of taking minutes at board
meetings.
Minute Writing—A Guide for
Clerks
The Official Cardiff Council Web site
This site features a detailed guide to the principles and concepts of writing
minutes at meetings.
Taking Meeting
Minutes
MeetingWizard.com
This site features tips and advice for taking thorough and professional
meeting minutes.
mission statements
Developing a Mission Statement
Business Owner's Toolkit, CCH Inc.
This site presents a brief discussion of what a mission statement is and what
a good mission statement should include as well as a link to a case study on the
crucial connection between mission statements and business success.
How to Write a Mission
Statement
About.com
This site presents F. John Reh's twelve steps to writing a successful
business mission statement.
What Should Our Mission Statement
Say?
Internet Nonprofit Center
This site offers advice and ideas for nonprofit organizations on the need for
clear, concise mission statements.
newsletter articles
Writing Newsletter
Articles
A Promotion Guide
Part of a Web site that offers a free step-by-step promotional tutorial, this
page features a discussion of how to write articles designed for publication in
newsletters that can help promote a business or Web
site.
newsletters
Checklist Will Make for More Effective
Newsletter
Stephen Wilbers, Author
Columnist Stephen Wilbers offers this checklist outlining essential points to
include when writing a newsletter.
How to Write Newsletters That Get Results:
Email Newsletter Essentials
This downloadable e-book written by Stephen Brown offers techniques for
writing newsletters that work.
Newsletter Design
Tips
About.com
On this site, Judy Litt offers links to resources for designing
newsletters.
Tips on Email Newsletters
Digital-Women.com
This Web site offers a how-to article by Debbie Buxton on how to write e-mail
newsletters.
policies and procedures
Guide to Writing Policy and Procedure
Documents
University of California, Santa Cruz
This site's downloadable guide offers help to anyone responsible for
formulating or documenting new or existing policies and
procedures.
Online Technical Writing: Resources for
Organizational Policies and Procedures
Online Technical Writing, David A. McMurrey, Author
This site features information on writing policies and procedures for a
business and includes links to further resources.
Policies and Procedures for Clinical
Coding
NHS Information Authority, UK
This site offers a discussion of policies and procedures for clinical coding
but includes some helpful tips on writing policies and procedures that can be
applied universally.
Writing Policies and Procedures for Your
Business
Green-office.com
This site offers helpful advice on writing policies and procedures as well as
links to other helpful tips for small-business employees and
owners.
presentations
Effective
Presentations
The University of Kansas Medical Center
Jeff Radel offers links to resources for developing a good oral or poster
presentation as well as links to resources for putting together effective
presentations, both oral and written.
Presentation Tips and
Suggestions
Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of California
This site offers a brief list of ideas for what to include in classroom
presentations to make them more interesting and links to Web pages with
guidelines for implementing some of those ideas.
Presentations
The Writing Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This online handout written by Molly Brown offers guidelines for a systematic
approach to preparing presentations.
press releases
Dr. Randall Hansen's Guide to Writing Successful Press
Releases
Department of Marketing, Stetson University
This site features links to resources designed to help users write better
press releases for the promotion of new Web sites or to make any kind of
promotional campaign more effective.
Press Release Pointers: Writing and Sending Press
Releases
InfoScavenger Communications, Inc.
This site offers tips for writing and sending press
releases.
Press-Release-Writing.com
A service of Accurate Online Solutions, this Web site includes tips, samples,
and resources for writing press releases.
Writing Press
Releases
The Write Market
This Web site features links to various online articles on how to create
effective press releases.
Writing
Releases
IT Journalist.com
On this site, journalist and copywriter Danny Bradbury offers a simple but
effective outline for writing press releases.
process explanation
The Process
Essay
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a discussion of the so-called process essay, the writing project often
assigned in college classes that asks students to describe how to do something
or tell how something happens. A sample essay is included on the
site.
Writing a Process
Essay
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of the process essay, including an
essay sample, written by Heidi Everett and revised for LEO by Judith
Kilborn.
progress and activity reports
Guidelines for Writing a Progress
Report
English Department, Northern Illinois University
This site features an outline of a pattern to follow for a progress report as
well as a link to a sample report.
Progress
Reports
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech
Part of an online writing guide for engineering and science students, this
Web page presents a description of the segments usually included in a progress
report.
Progress/Activity
Reports
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Wilkes University
This Web site lists the elements that make up the purpose and content of
progress or activity reports.
promotional writing
Promotional Writing
Samples
Gates Editorial Services
This Web site features samples of brochure and direct-mail-letter copy
written by writer, copyeditor, and proofreader Michael
Gates.
proposals
Engineering
Proposals
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This page of an online writing guide offers links to helpful resources for
understanding and writing different types of engineering
proposals.
National Science Foundation Grant Proposal
Guide
This Web site's online brochure provides guidance for the preparation of
unsolicited proposals to NSF, a resource that would be helpful for anyone
preparing a grant proposal.
A Practical Guide for Writing Proposals
This site features English and Educational Technology instructor Alice Reid's
article on composing a proposal.
Proposals
Engineering Communication Centre, the University of Toronto
This online document presents the basics of proposals.
SalesProposals.com
SalesProposals.com specializes in designing sales proposals and providing
consulting services. Their aim is to offer the most authoritative Web site on
the subject of sales proposals.
questionnaires
A Brief Guide to Questionnaire
Development
Office of Measurement and Research Service, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University
This site features the online version of a booklet, written by Robert B.
Frary, that identifies some of the more prevalent problems in questionnaire
development and suggests ways of avoiding them.
Guide to Questionnaires and
Surveys
Sociologist Frédéric D'Astous's personal Web site offers information related
to the creation of surveys and questionnaires.
How to Put Questionnaires on the
Internet
Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth
Dr. Paul Kenyon offers this step-by-step guide to posting questionnaires on
the Internet.
KnowThis.com's Marketing Virtual Library
From Professor Paul Christ of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, this
is a subject directory of sites related to marketing, market research, and much
more.
Marketing Power.com
American Marketing Association
This Web site offers resources for marketing professionals including a career
center, newsletter, marketer's toolkit, and articles on marketing
practices.
Research Methods Resources on the WWW:
Questionnaires
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, The University of
British Columbia
This Web site offers links to a wide range of resources related to developing
and using questionnaires.
reference letters
A Few Tips on How to Write a Letter of
Recommendation
Monster.com
The Monster.com online career center offers tips on what to include in a
recommendation letter as well as links to a few sample letters.
Letters of Recommendation: Requesting
References
About.com
This Web page, presented by Alison Doyle, offers advice on whom to ask for
letters of recommendation and how to ask for them.
Letters of Recommendation: Writing Reference
Letters
About.com
This Web page, presented by Alison Doyle, offers advice on writing reference
letters.
refusal letters
Letters Concerning
Employment
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site features advice on writing the various letters a job applicant may
need to write. The ideas are adapted from Business Writing Strategies and
Samplesby Jeanne W. Halpern, Judith M. Kilborn, and Agnes
Lokke.
Preparing Your Résumé and Cover
Letter
Career Services, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
This career resource Web site offers guidelines for writing a résumé, cover
letter, and other documents required in a job search.
Rejection of Job
Offer
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers advice on when and how to write a letter rejecting a job
offer.
reports
Organizing Information in Written
Reports
The Management Assistance Program for Non-Profits
This site features advice by consultant Deane Gradous on how to use headings
and organize information in various types of reports.
OWL at Purdue University: Writing a
Report
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a comprehensive overview of how to write a research
report.
Writing Business Reports
On-Line Business Learning Centre
This Web site offers a brief discussion of the components of a formal
report.
Writing Formal
Reports
Bill Moon, School of Business, Clayton College & State University
This online handout is an outline for a formal report.
Writing Informal
Reports
Dr. Janice Tovey, Department of English, East Carolina University
This Web site features tips for writing an informal
report.
sales letters
How to Write Good Sales
Letters
This Web site features Nia Godsmark's tips on how to write effective sales
letters.
Sales Letters: Four Point Action
Closing
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site describes how to write a good persuasive closing in a sales
letter.
Write Sales Letters that PULL
Kevin Nunley Associates
Dr. Kevin Nunley offers five sure-fire sales letter formulas on this Web
site.
tables of contents
How to Create a Table of Contents in
Word
Microsoft.com
This online application note describes how to create a table of contents in
a
Microsoft Word document.
How to Design a Table of
Contents
New Architect, CMP Media, LLC
This online article by Web-site designer Steve Toub offers insight into
effective table of contents design for Web sites.
Explore Tables of Contents in Word
2002
Microsoft.com
This page of the Microsoft Office Assistance Center Web site offers tips and
support information for creating tables of contents using Microsoft Word® 2002
trade journal articles
Articles for Journals and Trade
Magazines
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
This Web site, designed for Pacific Northwest Laboratory personnel, outlines
steps for preparing an article for publication in journals and trade magazines.
Much of the information is universally applicable and helpful.
Popular Magazines vs. Trade Magazines vs.
Scholarly Journals
Colorado State University Libraries
This site, designed for student researchers, features a list of general
criteria that can be used to distinguish between popular magazines, trade
magazines, and scholarly journals.
Writing Journal Articles
Writing Skills for the Tax Professional, Georgia State University
This site features guidelines for preparing a tax-related manuscript for
journal publication. The steps will be helpful to anyone preparing an article
for publication.
trip reports
Conference Trip Reports by Jakob
Nielsen
Dr. Jakob Nielsen, also known as the "king of usability" because of his
knowledge and experience regarding what makes a good Web site, features his own
conference trip reports on this Web site.
Trip Report: Nader's Conference on
Microsoft
This site features a listserve entry of a conference trip
report.
trouble reports
Consumer Product Safety Commission Reports on Amusement
Park Rides
This Web site offers links to technical reports published by the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
OSHA: Fatal Facts Accident Reports
Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor
This Web site offers links to OSHA accident reports.
back to top
Finding a Job
acceptance/refusal letters (for employment)
Acceptance/Refusal Letters
Trustee Center for Professional Development, Hartwick College
This site offers tips on writing cover letters for job seekers, including
acceptance and refusal letters, with outlines of each.
Deciding on a Job
Offer
PE Technicon, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
With self-help advice for job seekers, this site presents an overview of how
to evaluate a job offer and decide whether to accept or decline it. The site
includes sample acceptance and refusal
letters.
application letters
About Cover Letters
JobStar
Part of a job resource Web site, this page offers tips on writing cover
letters and includes links to sample cover letters and cover letter resources on
the Web.
Dynamic Cover Letters
Tutorial
QuintCareers.com
An interactive tutorial on how to write cover letters, including lots of
samples, is available on this Web site.
Cover
Letters
The Writing Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This Web site offers an electronic handout with guidelines for writing cover
letters.
Cover
Letters
CareerCity.com
Cover letter tips and samples are available on this job resource Web
site.
Cover Letters: How to Sell
Yourself
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips on how to write a successful cover letter and includes
a sample letter.
interviewing for a job
Guide to Job Interviewing
Resources
QuintCareers.com
Quintessential Careers lists their top picks for helpful Internet sites
related to making the best of a job interview.
Interview
CareerCity
This Web site for job seekers offers advice on everything from what to wear
to a job interview to what to do once the interview is over.
The Job
Interview
Mapping-Your-Future
This site lists five steps the job seeker can follow to prepare for an
interview.
Job-Interview.net
This site offers a wide range of tips and resources to help the job seeker
prepare for a job interview.
Job
Interviewing
About.com
Dawn Rosenberg McKay "gets down to the basics" in this article outlining how
to prepare for and succeed in a job
interview.
job search
Guide to Writing Job
Descriptions
Personnel Department, UCLA
This site offers guidelines and resources for analyzing jobs and writing job
descriptions.
Guidelines for Writing Job
Descriptions
Human Resources, Rice University
This Web page offers succinct guidelines for defining the essential elements
of a job and writing a job description.
Writing Job Descriptions for Small
Businesses
Ohio State University
This university fact sheet written by James R. Lindner explains job analysis
and offers a sample job description.
resignation letters or memos
The Complete Guide to
Resigning
Portland Intelligence, Ltd.
This Web site specializes in everything one needs to know in order to resign
from a job, from letter writing to arranging financial matters.
Sample Thank You and Resignation
Letters
International Executive Search
This site features a sample resignation letter and other job letter
tips.
Writing a Resignation
Letter
Rocky Mountain Jobs
This site features J. Steven Niznik's advice on what to include in a
resignation letter as well as links to sample
letters.
résumés
Five Tips for Better Résumé
Writing
Dummies.com, John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Sponsored by the Dummies book series publishers, this Web site offers tips on
writing and designing a résumé.
How to Write a
Résumé
Work Source Walla Walla Partners
This job resource Web site offers guidelines on putting a résumé
together, including tips on what to include, what to avoid, and how to package
everything together.
Rebecca Smith's eRésumés & Resources
Online résumé guru Rebecca Smith offers this Web site featuring links to
résumés of all kinds posted on the Web.
Soulis' Career/Job/Résumé
Pages
Soulis.com, An Internet Directory
This job-search resource site offers dozens of links to Web-based job banks
and résumé-writing tips.
salary negotiations
Average Entry Level Salaries for Graduates
with Engineering and Computer Degrees
This site's list of average entry-level salaries for recent college graduates
with engineering and computer degrees is presented by Career Recruitment Media,
Inc.
Bureau
of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the
federal government in the field of labor economics and statistics. This Web site
offers myriad resources related to the work of the bureau including statistical
data on wages, earnings, and benefits nationwide.
Negotiations, Collegegrad.com
This Web site is one of the top Internet job-search resource sites
specifically designed for college students and recent college graduates. This
page offers information on how to negotiate job terms such as salary and
benefits.
Salary.com
This Web site was created to inform and educate people with the latest
information on compensation and benefits. It includes a searchable salary
database arranged by job type and calculation wizards for salary and financial
planning.
Salary Center, Monster.com
Monster.com's Web site on salaries offers tips for job seekers on how to
negotiate salary terms.
Wageweb.com
Human Resources Programs Development and Improvement, Richmond, VA
This Web site offers online salary information on over 170 benchmark
positions and is designed to keep employers informed of salary
rates.
back to top
Workplace Technology
e-mail
Attachments
Information Technology Services, Yale University
This site offers answers to questions about sending e-mail attachments. Some
information is specific to the Yale University community, but most is generally
applicable.
Email
Attachments
Department of Information Technology, Amherst College
This "help" site offers a friendly, step-by-step guide to handling e-mail
attachments.
Email: How to Write
Effectively
Kaitlin Duck Sherwood, Author
This sites offers a guide to writing effective e-mail including how to
approach such issues as page layout, gestures, and intonation.
Netiquette
Virginia Shea, Author
This site offers the online version of Netiquette, a book devoted to
providing guidelines for proper conduct in
cyberspace.
fax
Creating and Sending a Fax with Microsoft Word
2002
Microsoft Corporation
This page from the Microsoft Office Assistance Center offers information on
using Word to help you create and send a fax.
FAQ: How Can I Send a Fax from the
Internet?
Savetz.com
Freelance computer and technology journalist Kevin Savetz authored this
online document answering frequently asked questions about how to send faxes
over the Internet.
Junkfaxes.org
Robert H. Braver, Sponsor
This Web site offers information on various junk fax senders as an aid to the
recipients, including a searchable database, as well as links to news and
resources related to junk fax laws.
Internet
Measuring the Net
T & D Limitless Web, Ltd.
This Web page features links to sites containing statistics and demographics
about the Internet including the estimated size of the net, usage, and information about its
users.
Internet research
Bartleby.com
This site provides users with access to electronic versions of the
Columbia Encyclopedia; the American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language; Roget's II: The New Thesaurus; Bartlett's Familiar Quotations; and
a number of standard reference works.
Evaluating Web Resources, Widener
University
Wolfgram Memorial Library
Jan Alexander and Marsha Tate created this Web module that provides links to
materials to assist in teaching students how to evaluate the informational
content of Web resources. The site also includes a bibliography of materials on
applying critical thinking techniques to Web resources.
Evaluating Web Site
Content
Study Guides and Strategies, University of St. Thomas
This site provides a good overview of information about how to evaluate Web
sites along with links to Web sites related to Web evaluation.
Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Ask and
Strategies for Getting Answers
UC Berkeley
This site provides a breakdown of the information available on Web sites that
can help a user evaluate whether the source is legitimate, timely, reliable or
biased.
Lookoff.com
Lookoff.com is an entire site devoted to helping users navigate the Internet
using the advanced tools and techniques that experts use. This section of the
site has links to thousands of search engines organized by topic.
Research Tools
iTools
This site allows users to search various reference sites of general
information such as encyclopedias, biographies, telephone area codes,
trademarks, and quotations— all from one search screen.
Search Engine Watch
This site provides up-to-date information about search engines—classifying,
evaluating, and summarizing the current features of each.
Why We Need to Evaluate What We Find on the
Internet, Purdue University
D. Scott Brandt, Associate Professor, Purdue University
This site features an overview of criteria for evaluating Web site content,
presented in an outline format.
Web design
DRM Web Watcher
Disability Resources, Inc.
This site offers links to resources that will help users make their Web pages
more accessible to those with disabilities.
Mike Markel's Web Design Tutorial
Bedford/St. Martin's
This tutorial provides a concise overview of the process of creating a Web
site, introduces important design principles to consider during site design, and
presents sample Web pages for analysis.
Multimedia Design for the World Wide
Web
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This site offers tips for visual layout and media usage in Web site
design.
NetLingo Web Page Color Select
NetLingo, Inc.
This Web-design coloring book site allows users to try out text and
background colors before choosing them for their own Web
site.
word processing and writing
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe's Web site offers free Acrobat Reader software downloads as well as
product resources and support.
Microsoft Word Legal User's Guide
Microsoft Corporation
The Microsoft Word® "Legal User's Guide" contains step-by-step instructions
to help legal users accomplish the tasks necessary to build robust legal
documents in Microsoft Word 97 or Microsoft Word 2000.
Word Processing Tips
Way to Write!, The University of Calgary
This page of an interactive guide to writing offers tips for using
word-processing functions when revising.
Writing with Computers
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers discussion of the specific ways word-processing software can
aid writers' efforts in all aspects of the writing
process.
writing for the Web
The Internet Writing Guide
Written by Timothy Campbell, this online guide provides basic information
about writing online.
W3schools.com
Inside W3Schools you will find a large number of free Web-building tutorials,
from basic HTML and XHTML tutorials, to advanced XML, XSL, and WAP
tutorials.
Web Style Guide
Information Technology Services-Medicine, Yale University School of
Medicine
This site features an online version of the Web Style Guide: Basic Design
Principles for Creating Web Sitesby Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah
Horton.
Writing Effective Web
Pages
Study Guides and Strategies, University of St. Thomas
This site suggests what to avoid and what rules to follow when writing a Web
page.
back to top
Planning and Research
audience
Audience and
Purpose
Writing Center, California State University, Los Angeles
This site offers brief tips on how to think about audience and focus in
different types of writing situations.
Audience and Purpose
The Guide, SUNY Geneseo
Part of an online writing guide offering advice and information about the
process and product of writing, this site covers audience and purpose in
academic essays.
How Audience and Purpose Affect
Focus
Writing Center, Colorado State University
The Writing@CSU site offers writing help and guidance in an online textbook
format. This Web page directs the user to various discussions on the roles of
audience and purpose in essay writing.
bibliographies
How to Prepare an Annotated
Bibliography
Cornell University
Part of a hypertext guide to library research, this site presents a succinct
guide to writing an annotated bibliography.
brainstorming
Brainstorming
Creativity Web, Charles Cave, Author
This site offers a brief discussion of brainstorming, including
rules.
The Step by Step Guide to
Brainstorming
Jeffrey Baumgartner, Author, JPB Creative Co., Ltd.
This site offers practical steps to follow in a brainstorming
session.
copyright
Ten Big Myths About Copyright
Explained
Brad Templeton, Author
This site presents an essay on copyright myths written by the man who
introduced the "dot" in "dot.com" addresses.
Title 17—Copyrights
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Users can access the full text of Title 17 on this U.S. Code Collection site.
Understanding Business Communication and
Copyright Laws
GigaLaw.com
This site offers an article, written by attorney Doug Isenberg, on copyright
law as it pertains to business correspondence.
US Copyright Office
The Library of Congress
This official Web site of the U.S. copyright office offers a variety of
resources and links related to copyright law, licensing, and
policy.
documenting sources
American Chemical Society
Chemistry.org
This Web site offers a multitude of resources to chemistry educators and
students including links to databases such as ChemResourceNews, which features
searchable research articles on the sciences.
American Management Association
Amanet.org
This Web site is dedicated to providing resources to business professionals
including links to the organization's research project data, self-study courses,
and publications.
American Medical Association
Ama~assn.org
This Web site offers links to timely information, research databases, medical
education and ethics, journals and much more relating to issues of health in
America.
American Political Science Association
Apsanet
The online resource for the world's largest professional organization for the
study of politics, this site provides links to online journals, teaching
resources, and job banks.
American Psychological Association
APA Online
Part of APA Online, the APAStyle.org site offers APA style tips on current
issues such as how to cite electronic references and removing bias in
language.
Associated Press
This news Web site of the Associated Press has links to AP wire stories via
state and local sites as well as links to the organization's products and
services.
Bluebook
Harvard Law Review
Use this Web site to order The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation,
a resource used by
legal scholars and practitioners as the definitive source of rules for citation
in legal documents and law journals.
Council of Science Editors
This Web site serves members in the scientific, scientific publishing, and
information science communities by providing links to reference information
useful to editors other professional societies, a member directory, and job
bank.
Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation
Online
Bedford/St. Martin's
This user-friendly, comprehensive Web site offers links to electronic
research databases, organized by discipline, coupled with links to Diana
Hacker's handbook so that the user can both find research sources and get
guidance on how to document those sources.
Modern
Languages Association
Mla.org
The professional organization supporting the study and teaching of language
and literature, the MLA also publishes the MLA Style Manualand the
MLA Bibliography. Information about both resources is available on this
Web site.
National Association of Social Workers Press
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
The NASW Press Web site offers information about its journal and book
publications as well as tools for authors who research and write in the field of
social work.
United
States Government Printing Office
The United States GPO produces and distributes federal government information
products. The Web site offers information and resources for obtaining these
products.
United States Government Printing Office Style
Manual
This Web page accesses an online version of the style manual used by the
United States Government Printing Office.
University of Chicago Press
The Chicago Manual of Style
This site offers a question-and-answer style online version of The Chicago
Manual of Styleindexed alphabetically for user-friendly
browsing.
Internet research
Bartleby.com
This site provides users with access to electronic versions of the
Columbia Encyclopedia; the American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language; Roget's II: The New Thesaurus; Bartlett's Familiar Quotations; and
a number of standard reference works.
Evaluating Web Resources, Widener
University
Wolfgram Memorial Library
Jan Alexander and Marsha Tate created this Web module that provides links to
materials to assist in teaching students how to evaluate the informational
content of Web resources. The site also provides a bibliography of materials on
applying critical thinking techniques to Web resources.
Evaluating Web Site
Content
Study Guides and Strategies, University of St. Thomas
This site provides a good overview of information about how to evaluate Web
sites along with links to Web sites related to Web evaluation.
Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Ask and
Strategies for Getting Answers
UC Berkeley
This site provides a breakdown of the information available on Web sites that
can help a user evaluate whether the source is legitimate, timely, reliable, or
biased.
Lookoff.com
Lookoff.com is an entire site devoted to helping users navigate the Internet
using the advanced tools and techniques that experts use. This section of the
site has links to thousands of search engines organized by topic.
Research Tools
iTools
This site allows users to search various reference sites of general
information such as encyclopedias, biographies, telephone area codes,
trademarks, and quotations— all from one search screen.
Search Engine Watch
This site provides up-to-date information about search engines—classifying,
evaluating, and summarizing the current features of each.
Why We Need to Evaluate What We Find on the
Internet, Purdue University
D. Scott Brandt, Associate Professor, Purdue University
This site features an overview of criteria for evaluating Web site content
presented in an outline format.
interviewing for information
Informational
Interviewing
DANEnet, Madison, WI
This site lists steps to take and possible questions to ask in preparing for
and conducting an informational interview.
Qualitative
Interviewing
Professor Monika Ardelt, University of Florida
This site features course materials outlining how to conduct qualitative
interviewing including how to establish rapport, guide the interview, make field
observations and ask questions that are especially suited to life-history
interviews.
Research
Interviewing
Office of the Director of Research, Deakin University
This downloadable online training module offers a comprehensive discussion of
effective research-interviewing practices.
Research Methods Resources on the WWW:
Quantitative and Qualitative Interviewing
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, The University of
British Columbia This Web site offers links to various resources and
articles related to quantitative and qualitative
interviewing.
library research
Glossary of Common Library Terms
Marriott Library, University of Utah
The alphabetized glossary on this site gives accessible definitions for
selected library and computing terms that tend to be used frequently in library
settings.
Google Directory of Libraries
This directory provides access to online archives, college and university
libraries, and government documents.
LibDex Library Index
LibDex is a worldwide directory of library home pages and Web-based Online
Public Access Catalogs (OPACs).
Library
of Congress
This site offers access to the online catalog holdings and special
collections of the Library of Congress.
Library
Terms
Auraria Library, Denver, CO
This Web site offers an alphabetical listing of some common library terms, as
well as terms from related disciplines, with definitions designed to help
demystify libraries and the research process.
listening
Active Listening
Techniques
Poynter.org
The Poynter.org site provides journalists with reliable information, useful
tools, and provocative suggestions. This page briefly outlines four types of
active listening techniques.
Listening Skills
Canadian Association on Student Activity Advisors (CASAA)
This site offers a brief discussion of how facial expression and eye contact
are vital to effective, active listening.
note-taking
Lecture Note
Taking
Office of Academic Advising, College of Saint Benedict, Saint John's
University
This site offers guidelines and tips for students taking notes in lecture
classes.
Listening and
Note-Taking
Study Skills Package, University of Waterloo
This site features tips on what is required to develop good listening and
note-taking skills.
Note-Taking and In-Class
Skills
The Division of Student Affairs and Cook Counseling Center, Virginia Tech
University
This site offers advice for students who want to improve their note-taking
skills.
Taking Meeting Notes on Your Pocket
PC
Microsoft.com
This site features Brad Adrian's article on how to use a pocket PC to keep
track of meeting details.
paraphrasing
Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own
Words
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers tips on how to borrow from a source without
plagiarizing.
Paraphrasing: Restating Ideas In Your Own
Words
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout offers tips on when and how to
paraphrase.
Quoting and
Paraphrasing
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook offers resources for learning how to
correctly and legitimately quote and paraphrase from outside sources in academic
writing.
Using
Paraphrases
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this brief guide to using paraphrases including
examples and hints.
plagiarism
Avoiding Plagiarism
Student Judicial Affairs, University of California, Davis
This Web site offers guidelines and advice for students on how to avoid
plagiarism and master ethical scholarship.
Avoiding
Plagiarism
Writing Center, Hamilton College
This site offers general advice, written by Sharon Williams, on citing
sources correctly and includes examples.
Plagiarism
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a discussion of plagiarism and includes links to further
helpful resources for those learning to cite sources correctly.
Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid
It
Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington
This site's guide to plagiarism offers good examples of how to recognize
acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases.
A Statement on
Plagiarism
Library, Capital Community College
This student-oriented Web site features a definition of plagiarism and some
examples of legitimate and inappropriate use of source text in excerpted
writing.
preparation
Essay
Writing—Preparation
Counseling Services, Wilfrid Laurier University
This online study-skills handout offers a step-by-step approach for preparing
to write an academic essay.
Planning (Invention)
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers questions and strategies to help writers generate
ideas and context when planning an essay. The site includes links to other
helpful resources.
purpose
Academic Writing: Thesis and Purpose
Statements
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook offers examples of thesis and
purpose statements.
Audience and
Purpose
University Writing Center, California State University, Los Angeles
This online handout suggests ways to think about the issues of audience and
purpose in academic writing.
Audience and Purpose
The Guide, State University of New York, Geneseo
This online writer's guide offers tips for addressing audience and purpose in
essay assignments.
How Audience and Purpose Affect
Focus
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This page of an online writing guide offers perspectives on the relationship
of audience and purpose to focus in essay writing.
Writing with a Sense of
Purpose
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers sample essays and commentary to help users address the problem of
establishing a purpose when writing essays.
questionnaires
A Brief Guide to Questionnaire Development
Office of Measurement and Research Service, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University
This site features the online version of a booklet, written by Robert B.
Frary, that identifies some of the more prevalent problems in questionnaire
development and suggests ways of avoiding them.
Guide to Questionnaires and
Surveys
Sociologist Frédéric D'Astous's personal Web site offers information related
to the creation of surveys and questionnaires.
How to Put Questionnaires on the
Internet
Department of Psychology, University of Plymouth
Dr. Paul Kenyon offers this step-by-step guide to posting questionnaires on
the Internet.
KnowThis.com's Marketing Virtual Library
From Professor Paul Christ of West Chester University of Pennsylvania, this
is a subject directory of sites related to marketing, market research, and much
more.
Marketing Power.com
American Marketing Association
This Web site offers resources for marketing professionals including a career
center, newsletter, marketer's toolkit, and articles on marketing
practices.
Research Methods Resources on the WWW:
Questionnaires
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, The University of
British Columbia
This Web site offers links to a wide range of resources related to developing
and using questionnaires.
quotations
Effectively Using Direct
Quotations
Writing Center, University of Richmond
This Web site features brief guidelines for the correct use of long, short,
partial or altered quotations in essays.
Indirect Quotations
Presented by Lucy Silver, this grammar reference Web site designed for
students and teachers of English or ESL features examples of indirect
quotations.
Making Quotes
Presented by Lucy Silver, this grammar reference Web site designed for
students and teachers of English or ESL features examples of direct
quotations.
MLA Quotations
Community College of Southern Nevada
This online handout offers a review of MLA style rules for using and citing
quotations.
Using Literary Quotations: Clarity and
Readability: Some Guidelines
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook offers tips for weaving quotations
smoothly and correctly into essays.
readers
Analyze
Readers
Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill
This Web site offers techniques for writing with a clear, strategic sense of
your readers.
Analyzing the Writing
Situation
Department of English, University of Idaho
Phil Druker presents this online handout with a list of questions about
audience and purpose that writers should consider before beginning an
essay.
Readers Versus
Audience
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This site features a brief perspective written by Steve Reid on how to write
in a manner that makes the reader's experience more
meaningful.
research
Diana Hacker's Research and Documentation
Online
Bedford/St. Martin's
This research resource Web site based on Diana Hacker's handbook offers
excellent links to research databases and documentation
guidelines.
Primary
Research
Information Skills Tutorial, University of Toronto
This Web site features a brief definition and discussion of primary
research.
Repositories of Primary
Sources
University of Idaho Library
This Web site offers a listing of over 4,900 Web sites describing holdings of
manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary
sources for the research scholar.
Research Strategies: Finding Your Way Through the
Information Fog (a textbook by William Badke)
The online version of Badke's research textbook, this site offers lots of
hands-on examples and visual aids to help the user through the research process.
Secondary Market
Research
Lycos, Inc.
This site features a brief article on market research used by small
businesses.
Suggested Internet Research
Strategies
Ronald W. Kriesel offers this online tutorial on
successful Internet research strategies, including tips and
techniques.
scope
Focus
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This section of an online writing guide covers ways to achieve focus in
writing.
Writing a Research Paper:
Scope
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a discussion of how to do preliminary research and refine an
essay topic.
selecting the medium
What Is Your Medium of
Advertising?
Saint Roch Tree Technologies
This site features an article by Cheryline Lawson on the importance of
finding the right targeted advertising medium for any particular
business.
topics
Developing Research
Topics
Library Services, Austin Community College
This Web site offers a step-by-step guide to selecting topics for papers and
speeches and beginning research.
Working with
Topics
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This section of an online writing guide covers how to arrive at, work with,
and narrow topics for essay projects.
back to top
Organization, Writing, and Revision
biased language
Avoiding Gender Bias in
Pronouns
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of biased versus gender-free language,
written by Sharon Cogdill and Judith Kilborn.
Eliminating Gender-Biased
Language
Georgia Learning Connections, Georgia Department of Education
This site lists guidelines for eliminating gender-biased language using
illustrative examples.
cause-and-effect method of development
Cause and
Effect
Learning Lab, Parkland College
Ruth Ann Vokac offers this brief overview of causal analysis in
writing.
Global Warming: A Cause and Effect Writing
Lesson
The Internet TESL Journal
Amy Ogasawara of Miyazaki International College offers this writing
assignment designed to practice cause-and-effect skills.
Methods of Development—Cause and
Effect
English Department, San Antonio College
This Web site offers a brief definition and description of cause and
effect.
University Writing Skills: Cause and Effect:
Reason/Result
Janet Sutherland, University of Bremen
This site offers a brief discussion of cause and effect and outlines a
related writing assignment.
chronological method of development
Organizing Material According to Purpose: The
Chronological Method
Harvard ManageMentor
Using an e-course interactive format, this site defines the chronological
method, part of a course guide to a reader-centered approach to
writing.
clarity
Clarity in Writing: Use of
Articles
University of Sussex Language Institute
This site offers a brief description of points relevant to article usage and
clarity in writing.
Clear Writing: Ten Principles of Clear
Statement
University Extension, University of Missouri
Adapted from The Technique of Clear Writingby the Gunning-Mueller
Clear Writing Institute, Inc., this site outlines ten principles that lead to
clear writing.
Strategies for Improving Sentence
Clarity
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips and strategies for writing effective, clear
sentences.
coherence
Coherence
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips for coherent writing.
Coherence: Transitions Between
Ideas
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers tips on making coherent transitions in writing and includes an
interactive quiz.
collaborative writing
Collaborative Writing
New Century College
This online writing guide offers strategies for successful collaborative
writing.
Group Work and Collaborative
Writing
University of California, Davis
Brian A. Connery and John L. Vohs's online guidebook is a thoughtful and
comprehensive discussion of how to use group work and collaboration to complete
complex assignments such as field research, term papers, and group
presentations.
Strategies for Document Sharing and
Collaboration
Jon G. Houseman, Teaching Technologies
This site presents guidelines for collaborative group work including how to
use technology to share, route, and collate individual input in group work
situations.
comparison method of development
Making
Comparisons
Professor G. Labanick, University of South Carolina, Spartanburg
This site presents an example of comparison by turning a list of descriptive
information on two items into effective sentences that compare the
two.
Resources for Writers: Comparison
Writing
C. Sandra Jamieson, Drew University
This site presents guidelines for using comparison in academic papers
including a list of questions for peer review of
drafts.
conciseness/wordiness
Conciseness: Methods of Eliminating
Wordiness
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers ten methods of eliminating wordiness.
conclusions
Conclusions
The Ohio State University Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing
This site presents a brief discussion of different ways to write a conclusion
to an essay.
Ending the Essay:
Conclusions
Writing Center, Harvard University
This site offers advice on how to conclude—and how not to conclude—an
essay.
Strategies for Writing a
Conclusion
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, offers suggestions and strategies for writing essay
conclusions.
defining terms
Definitional
Techniques
The Writing Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This site presents Professor Merrill Whitburn's overview of techniques used
by academic and professional writers for defining
terms.
definition method of development
Developing a
Definition
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides a discussion of how to develop a definition in essay writing and
includes a sample student essay.
Methods of
Development—Definition
English Department, San Antonio College
This Web site offers a review of the definition method of development taken
from Aristotle's writings.
description
Methods of
Development—Description
English Department, San Antonio College
This Web site offers a review of the description method of development taken
from Aristotle's writings.
Writing
Descriptions
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a discussion of principles, conventions, and strategies for
writing descriptions.
division-and-classification method of development
Methods of Development—Classification (and
Division)
English Department, San Antonio College
This Web site offers a brief description of the classification method of
development taken from Aristotle's discussion of
writing.
ethics in writing
Ethical Problems with Writing a
Paper
Michael D. Mann, Ph.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center
This site offers a discussion of ethical problems associated with writing
papers.
Online Ethics Center for Engineering and
Science
Case Western Reserve University
This comprehensive site offers engineers, scientists, and science and
engineering students resources for understanding ethical problems that arise in
their work.
exposition
Information About Expository
Writing
Expository Writing Program, University of Michigan
This site presents a definition of expository writing, samples of
organizational patterns found in exposition, and a brief rationale for why
teaching expository writing is important.
forms of discourse
Seven Types of Paragraph
Development
Professor Gerald Grow, Author, Florida A & M University
This site offers annotated examples of seven types of paragraph
development.
general and specific method of development
Developing an Outline
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise guide to writing an outline.
Organizing Ideas
Plain Train
This Web page offers tips and advice for organizing ideas and is part of an
online training course designed to improve communication skills with the use of
plain language.
introductions
Getting Started
Word-Space
This site presents two possible strategies for beginning a business memo or
in-house report.
Introductions
The Ohio State University Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing
This brief article discusses what is essential to an essay's introduction and
ways to cope with feeling "blocked" at the beginning of a paper.
Introductions
Writing Center Online Guide, Lynchburg College
Robert Ward prepared this brief discussion of what a thesis for a paper
entails and what paper introductions should do.
Introductory Paragraphs
The Writing Center, Harvard University
This Web site's outline of what should be included in an essay's introductory
paragraph was adapted from The HarperCollins Guide to
Writing by Sommers and Simon.
Writing Introductions
The University Writing Center, Texas Tech University
This Web site's discussion of how to write an introduction to an essay
includes sample introductions following different modes of development as well
as suggestions for effective introductions taken from "Writing Introductions" in
Contexts: Writing and Readingby Jeanette Harris and Ann
Moseley.
logic errors
Argumentation/Persuasion: Logic in
Argumentative Writing
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers links to a set of online handouts that discuss common terms
and concepts used in formal logical reasoning.
Common Errors of Logic in Argumentative Writing (Logical
Fallacies)
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Campus
Steve Moiles has designed this online handout that reviews and gives examples
of common errors of logic in argumentative writing such as false analogy and
circular reasoning.
Identifying the Argument of an Essay
Dr. Frank Edler, Metropolitan Community College
This site offers a tutorial in recognizing the logical components of an
argument and thinking critically.
Stephen's Guide to Logical Fallacies
DataNation
Stephen Downes's Web site features this guide to logical fallacies, organized
by category, including definitions, examples, proofs, and references for each
fallacy listed.
methods of development
Audience Awareness: Methods of
Development
Dr. Jan Strever, Spokane Community College
This online essay briefly describes various methods of paragraph
development.
Methods of
Development
English Department, San Antonio College
This site provides answers to questions about exemplification, a method of
development found in Aristotle's discussion of writing.
Organizing Material According to
Purpose
Deborah Dumaine, Author
From the founder of the firm Better Communications, this site about business
writing includes a list of organizational methods and when to use
them.
Patterns of
Development
Southeastern Louisiana University
Elisabetta LeJeune's site of online course materials offers simple and
accessible descriptions of various methods of development for
writing.
narration
Methods of
Development—Narration
English Department, San Antonio College
This site provides answers to questions about narration, a method of
development found in Aristotle's discussion of writing.
Narration
The Parkland Learning Lab, Parkland College, Champaign, IL
This site features Ruth Ann Vokac's brief overview of the elements of a
narrative essay.
Writing Modes
The Washington Virtual Classroom
This page of a Web-based learning module site offers brief explanations of
the narrative, expository, descriptive, and persuasive modes of
writing.
order-of-importance method of development
Organize Provisions in Order of Descending
Importance: Exercises
The University of Chicago Press
This site features exercises on organizing points in written work taken from
Legal Writing in Plain Englishby Bryan A.
Garner.
organization
How to Effectively Organize a
Paper
Writing Lab Online, Bowling Green State University
This site offers seven ideas for organizing a paper.
Organization
The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This online handout offers an overview of paper organization, including
strategies to help organize a paper and some common pitfalls to watch out for
when organizing a paper.
Organizing
Information
The Internet Public Library
Designed for high school and college students, this site offers links for
resources on taking notes, outlining, and organizing information for written
research projects.
Organizing Your Writing
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Paradigm is an interactive, menu-driven, online writer's guide and
handbook. This page guides the user through discussion and exercises that can
help produce form and organization in writing.
Overview:
Organization
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This overview site offers links to various topics on the subject of
organization in writing, including what organization means, different types of
organization patterns, and some expert perspectives on
organization.
outlining
Basic
Outlining
Lloyd Sealy Library, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
This site features a synopsis of a basic outline form, a sample outline, and
links to further reading on using and writing outlines.
Getting Started:
Outlining
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers advice on how to use outlines to help organize ideas for a
paper.
Online Technical Writing: Planning
Reports—Outlining
Online Technical Writing, David A. McMurrey, Author
The page-design section of an online textbook for technical writing by author
David A. McMurrey, this site offers a detailed step-by-step guide for developing
an outline for a report project and includes helpful examples and practice
exercises.
Outlining
The Writing Center, Harvard University
This site features David Kornhaber's discussion of how to create detailed
outlines to help devise a structure for an
essay.
persuasion
The Fundamentals of Persuasive
Writing
Robert W. Bly, Author
This site features an essay covering eight points essential to successful
persuasive writing written by copywriter, consultant, and seminar leader Bob
Bly.
Persuasive
Diane Baerwald, North Shore School District, WA
This site, geared toward primary and secondary students, features a brief
outline listing the key features of persuasive essays.
Persuasive and Logical
Writing
On-line Writing Lab, Utah Valley State College
This Web site offers Sandy Vogel's succinct overview to persuasive and
logical writing.
Persuasive
Writing
Science Academy of South Texas
Science magnet high-school teacher R.J. Riggins offers this Web site
featuring a PowerPoint® presentation of simple points essential to persuasive
writing.
Writing Persuasion
Darin Archer has organized the writing guidelines on this Web site including
this brief outline of a strategy for approaching persuasive
writing.
point of view
Consistency: Making Pronoun Point of View
Consistent
Sentence Sense
This online textbook written by Evelyn Farbman and prepared for the Internet
by Charles Darling offers a brief review of pronoun usage for consistent point
of view.
Maintaining
Objectivity
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a helpful discussion of subjective versus objective tone and point of
view in writing and when to use one or the
other.
proofreading
Grammar and Style:
Proofreading
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online grammar and style manual features tips on
proofreading.
Proofreading
The Department of English, University of Victoria
This page of an online writer's guide reviews
proofreading.
Proofreading and Editing
Tips
LR Communication Systems, Inc.
This Web site features a compilation of advice from experienced proofreaders
and editors.
Proofreading
Strategies
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers detailed strategies for proofreading geared toward student
writers.
revision
Editing and Proofreading Strategies for
Revision
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers strategies for proofreading for major issues and for
sentence-level word issues in essays.
Revising
Prose
The Writing Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This online handout reviews various points that need attention when
proofreading.
Revision Checklist and Editing
Guidelines
University Writing Center, George Mason University
This online handout features a list of questions to ask when proofreading and
a list of specific points to consider when editing
essays.
sequential method of development
Organization Practice—Sequential
Diagram
Learning Skills Program, University of Victoria
This online handout features an exercise in organizing material using a map
or flowchart format.
spatial method of development
Organizing Material According to Purpose: The
Spatial Arrangement Method
Deborah Dumaine, Author
From the founder of the firm Better Communications, this site on business
writing describes the spatial arrangement method of organizing.
Principles of
Organization
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this Web
page, written by John Friedlander, discusses the role of organization in
effective writing.
titles
How to Write
Titles
Trellix Corporation
Tips for writing titles are featured on this page of a Web site that
discusses how to create good business documents in the linked, online
environment of intranets and the Internet.
Writing
Titles
Minnesota State University
This Web site features course materials presented by Carrie Williams
including this handout of seventeen tasks designed to help writing students come
up with strong titles for essays.
transition
Adding Transitions
Department of Information and Computer Science, University of California,
Irvine
Professor Michael T. Goodrich offers a list of transitions and other tips for
coherent writing gleaned from his late teacher, Dr.
Tiemersma.
Coherence: Transitions Between
Ideas
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews four basic mechanical considerations in providing transitions between
ideas and offers an interactive quiz on the material
presented.
Transitions
Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center, Hamilton College
This online handout written by Philip DiGennaro offers advice on creating
effective transitions.
Transitions: Signals for Your
Reader
Student Learning Services, Concordia Counseling and Development, Concordia
University
This Web page lists transitions and the meanings they tend to
signal.
unity
Coherence and Unity
Technology Studies in Education Research Portal, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
This site features an online lesson handout covering coherence in writing
written by F. Scott Walters.
Unity
The Writing Program, Hamilton College
This online handout offers a perspective on unity in writing as it relates to
paragraph construction.
Writing Resources: Unity, Coherence,
Development
Writing Center, Wheaton College
This page of an online writing guide describes how unity, coherence, and
development are essential elements of an effectively written
paragraph.
writing a draft
Writing First
Drafts
English Works!, Gallaudet University
This Web site offers links to sites that will help users in every aspect of
the process of writing a first draft.
Writing the First Draft
Writing and Tutorial Center, Pratt Institute
This online handout offers suggestions for writing first drafts of easy as
well as more complicated essays.
Writing the First Draft of Your
Manual
TechCom Plus
This site offers a helpful discussion of how to write the first draft of a
manual.
back to top
Design and Visuals
drawings
Online Technical Writing: Graphics and
Visuals
Online Technical Writing, David A. McMurrey, Author
The graphics and visuals section of an online textbook for technical writing
by author David A. McMurrey, this site offers tips on the use and manipulation
ofgraphics—charts, tables, photographs, and other visuals—in written
documents.
flowcharts
About Flowcharting
Flowchart.com
This Web site provides links for information on flowcharting and its
use.
Effective Process Diagrams and Flow
Charts
English Department, University of Maine, Orono
This Web site features support resources for students interested in technical
and business writing and focuses on what it takes to create strong visuals to
support that writing. The site includes links to various sample
visuals.
Examples and
Applications
Flowchart.com
This Web page provides links to samples of different types of
flowcharts.
global graphics
Color in
Graphics
ACM Siggraph
SIGGRAPH offers resources and information on the theory, design,
implementation, and application of computer graphics and interactive techniques.
This site offers information on using color in Web page graphics.
Marketing to Diverse
Cultures
Michael Lee, Seminars Unlimited
Michael Lee offers helpful tips on what to consider when using numbers,
colors, images, and graphics when developing marketing materials for specific
cultures.
Using Graphics and
Pictures
Bonnie Skaalid, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan
This site offers research findings on how graphics are used and when they are
useful or distracting in Web design.
graphs
Bar
Graphs
LabWrite Project 2000, North Carolina State University
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the LabWrite Project is
designed to help improve students' lab-report writing by offering the how-to
guidelines and related resources available on this site.
Tables and Graphs
This Web site has information on various types of tables and graphs as well
as graphics and quizzes.
headers and footers
Sections, Section Breaks, Headers and
Footers
The Social Law Library, Boston, MA
This legal resources site sponsors a link to the Microsoft Word® "Legal
User's Guide." This section of the guide explains how to use the sections,
section breaks, headers and footers functions in Microsoft Word.
Word Tips and Tricks: Headers and
Footers
Department of Technical Communication, University of Washington
This site offers tips and tricks for using the headers and footers functions
in Microsoft Word.
Word Tips Online Answers: Headers and
Footers
Discovery Computing, Inc.
This site features links to various articles about using the header and
footer functions in Microsoft Word.
headings
APA Documentation:
Headings
Writing Center, University of Wisconsin—Madison
Part of an online writer's handbook, this site simplifies some of the
complexities of using headers in APA style documentation.
Guide to Using Bullets, Numbering, Tab Stops,
Headings, and Paragraph Styles in Microsoft
Word®
Rick Lewis, Sandhills Community College
This site offers a step-by-step guide to using selected functions in
Microsoft Word.
indentation
HTML Reference Guide: How Do I Indent
Text?
Webspawner.com
This page of an HTML reference guide describes how to indent
text.
Indents
Academic Computing and Communications Center, University of Illinois at
Chicago
This online handout covers how to use the indent function in Microsoft Word
2000.
Microsoft Word 2000—Indenting
Text
Beginners.co.uk
This site features an online tutorial with instructions and tips on using the
indent function in Microsoft Word 2000.
WordPerfect 7: Changing the Margins, Alignment
and Spacing of Text Using Shortcut Keys
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This site features step-by-step directions for using selected functions in
WordPerfect® 7.
layout and design
Common Page Layout Terms
Explained
Computing Services, The University of Edinburgh
This Web site gives detailed explanations of common layout terms such as
aspect ratio, greeking, and widowand includes a link to
ten simple tips for putting a better document together.
Desktop Publishing
About.com
Jacci Howard Bear offers tips on desktop publishing topics such as raster
image processing and special fonts as well as explanations of publishing
terminology.
Layout and Design (Using Quark
Express)
Trinity College, The University of Dublin
This section of an online student publishing guidebook covers general and
specific points on desktop publishing layout and design using Quark
Express.
lists
Techniques for Generating Ideas:
Lists
Writing Center, Amherst College
This site offers a discussion of ways to use lists for brainstorming and to
organize ideas for an essay.
Using Numbers, Writing
Lists
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers advice on how to write numbers and organize lists in standard academic
prose.
maps
Cartographic Information on the Web
The University of Iowa Libraries
This useful site offers links to online maps and other types of
mapping/cartographic resources.
TerraServer
Microsoft Corporation
TerraServer is one of the world's largest online databases, providing free
public access to a vast data store of maps and aerial photographs of the United
States.
U.S. Census Bureau's Mapping and Cartographic
Resources
This site offers links to various U.S. cartographic resources related to the
work of the Census Bureau such as Census maps, geographic services, and state
and county quick facts.
organizational charts
Organizational Chart
This site features the organizational chart for Santa Clarita Manufacturing
Company in Valencia, California.
photographs
Working with
Photos
School of Communications, Elon University
Professor Gerald M. Gibson offers lecture notes on how to work with photos in
business publications, part of a course he teaches on corporate
publishing.
quotations
Effectively Using Direct
Quotations
Writing Center, University of Richmond
This Web site features brief guidelines for the correct use of long, short,
partial, or altered quotations in essays.
Indirect Quotations
Presented by Lucy Silver, this grammar reference Web site designed for
students and teachers of English or ESL features examples of indirect
quotations.
Making Quotes
Presented by Lucy Silver, this grammar reference Web site designed for
students and teachers of English or ESL features examples of direct
quotations.
MLA Quotations
Community College of Southern Nevada
This online handout offers a review of MLA style rules for using and citing
quotations.
Using Literary Quotations: Clarity and
Readability: Some Guidelines
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook offers tips for weaving quotations
smoothly and correctly into essays.
tables
How to Use Tables in
Word
Advisory Services, The University of Wales, Aberystwyth
This online how-to document describes steps to follow in order to create and
edit tables in Microsoft Word®.
When and How to Use a Table in a Research
Report
Laboratory Course Web Pages, Biosciences, Rice University
David R. Caprette offers this brief discussion of when and how to use tables
in research reports.
visuals
Choosing Types of
Visuals
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This section of an online writing guide covers how to choose charts, tables,
figures, and other visuals for effective presentations.
Online Technical Writing: Graphics and
Visuals
Online Technical Writing, David A. McMurrey, Author
The graphics and visuals section of an online textbook for technical writing
by author David A. McMurrey, this site offers detailed tips for including
graphics in technical documents.
Overview of
Visuals
KCI Business Communications Skills Programs
This site offers a brief discussion of how and why visuals are
important.
Technical Visuals
English Department, The University of Maine
This online handout for business, technical, and professional writing courses
provides an overview of the use of visuals in technical writing.
Using
Visuals
The Office of English Language and Writing Support, University of Toronto
This site, written by Rebecca A. Pinkus, features tips for creating and
placing effective visuals.
back to top
ESL Trouble Spots
adjectives
Adjectives
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers usage guidelines for adjectives as well as interactive quizzes
incorporating the material presented.
What Is an
Adjective?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of adjective usage
including links to key terms.
agreement
Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a review of pronouns and pronoun-antecedent agreement and includes
several interactive quizzes.
Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of pronoun-antecedent agreement,
written by Maggie Escalas.
Subject-Verb
Agreement
The Writing Center, City College of New York
This Web handout presents an overview of subject-verb
agreement.
articles
Articles, Determiners and
Quantifiers
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides succinct guidelines for understanding and using articles, determiners,
and quantifiers, including an interactive quiz on the material.
Clarity in Writing: Use of
Articles
University of Sussex Language Institute
This site offers a brief description of points relevant to article
usage.
Online Grammar Lessons—Adjectives and
Adverbs
ESLhome.org
This site provides links to online quizzes, lessons, and exercises covering
adjective and adverb usage. Some links require software
downloads.
The Use and Non-Use of
Articles
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of article usage and includes interactive
exercises.
biased language
Avoiding Gender Bias in
Pronouns
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of biased versus gender-free language,
written by Sharon Cogdill and Judith Kilborn.
Eliminating Gender-Biased
Language
Georgia Learning Connections, Georgia Department of Education
This site lists guidelines for eliminating gender-biased language using
illustrative examples.
clauses
Adverb
Clauses
English Language Centre, University of Victoria
This site presents an online introduction to adverbs with links to further
study and exercises.
Building
Clauses
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a definition of clauses with links to more
detailed information and practice exercises.
Independent and Dependent Clauses
(Definitions)
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers definitions of clauses and examples of
usage.
comma splice
The Grammar Outlaw: The Comma
Splice
English Department, Acadia University
This site offers a brief and lighthearted explanation of the comma
splice.
The Infamous Comma Splice (and How to Avoid
It)
The Writing Centre, University College of the Fraser Valley
This online handout reviews the comma splice and gives examples of ways to
correct it.
Rules for Fixing Comma Splices and Fused
Sentences
Grammar Bytes
This site reviews rules for correcting the comma splice and fused sentences,
including a link to a variety of interactive grammar
exercises.
Run-On Sentences, Comma
Splices
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides a brief review of comma splices and run-on sentences, including several
interactive quizzes.
commas
Commas, Commas, and More
Commas
The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This site features an online handout reviewing seven points about comma
usage.
Proofreading for
Commas
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips for spotting and correcting comma errors while
proofreading.
Rules for Comma Usage
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides a review of comma usage and includes links to several interactive
quizzes.
Using Commas
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of comma use and abuse.
double negatives
Double Negatives
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this brief overview of double negatives, including a
practice exercise, written by Judith Kilborn.
Double
Negatives
Professor Paul Brians, Washington State University
This site offers a brief discussion of double
negatives.
English as a second language
Dave's ESL Café
Dave Sperling, Author
A virtual café for students and teachers of English as a second language,
Dave Sperling's site offers comprehensive resources for the ESL
community.
English as 2nd Language
About.com
This site offers a wide range of Internet resources for ESL students and
teachers, including links to learning sites, games, teacher resources, chat
rooms, and ESL job banks.
EnglishLearner.com
Elek Mathe, Author
This site offers interactive tests and lessons for the student of English as
well as links to other ESL resources.
ESL Blue(s)
Eifion Pritchard, Author
This site offers a wide variety of interactive tests and activities designed
for the intermediate-level student of English as a second
language.
ESL Resources Online
Nanana.com
This site offers Internet links to ESL resources, games, songs, chat, and
books. Some links, such as the interactive games, are presented in English and
Japanese.
Exercise Central
Bedford/St. Martin's
The largest collection of editing exercises available online that provide
practice for mastering the skills of editing grammar, style, punctuation, and
mechanics.
gender
Gender, Adjectives
UltraLingua.net
This site offers a brief guide to adjective usage along with links to other
grammar topics.
Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ
Aether Lumina
This site, written by John Williams, features a discussion of gender-neutral
alternatives to gendered pronouns.
Gender, Nouns
UltraLingua.net
This site offers a brief guide to noun usage along with links to other
grammar topics.
The Gender of Nouns
The Internet Grammar of English
This site features the entry on the gender of nouns taken from The Survey
of English Usage.
idioms
English Idioms: Sayings and
Slang
Wayne Magnuson, Author
This site offers a searchable database of English idioms and their
definitions.
Prepositional Idioms (Phrasal Verbs)
Patricia Goldstein, Author
This document is a selected list of prepositional idioms developed by
Patricia Goldstein, ESL Composition Instructor at the University of Wisconsin –
Milwaukee, for The Business Writer's Handbook and the Handbook of
Technical Writing.
Prepositions to Use with Common
Words
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout features a list of prepositions to use with common verbs,
adjectives, and idiomatic expressions.
Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs
(Idioms)
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of verbal idioms and includes lists of
separable, inseparable, and intransitive phrasal
verbs.
mood (conditional)
Verbs: Conditional
Mood
Word One, The Word Association, Inc.
Part of a computerized writing and language-skills instructional program,
this site features a low-key and accessible explanation of when to use the
conditional mood.
nouns (forming plurals)
Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and
Verbs
Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL, Georgia State University
This site features a list of rules for irregular plural formation of nouns, a
list of irregular nouns showing singular and plural forms, and a list of rules
for irregular spelling of verb inflections, all compiled by Susan
Jones.
Nouns
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features a definition of nouns and explanations of categories and forms of
nouns.
Nouns
WritingDen
The Writing Den Web site is designed for middle- and high-school students
seeking to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills.
This Web page offers a definition of nouns and explains their
function.
What Is a Noun?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of noun usage and
function including links to key terms.
number (grammar)
Apostrophe's... Apostroph'es... Uses of the
Apostrophe
Writing Center, Emory University
This site features a brief review of apostrophe usage.
Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and
Verbs
Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL, Georgia State University
This site features a list of rules for irregular plural formation of nouns, a
list of irregular nouns showing singular and plural forms, and a list of rules
for irregular spelling of verb inflections, all compiled by Susan
Jones.
Spelling: Noun
Plurals
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of the rules for making nouns
plural.
numbers
Using Numbers, Writing
Lists
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers advice on how to write numbers in standard academic
prose.
Writing Numbers
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers concise direction on how to deal with numbers in written
language.
periods
The Period
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers usage guidelines for the period.
Periods and
Ellipses
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features the periods and ellipses section of Jane Straus's grammar
reference guide and handbook, providing definitions and
examples.
phrases
The Garden of Phrases
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers an overview of the construction and function of phrases as well as an
interactive quiz incorporating the material presented.
Phrases
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
"The Tongue Untied" is an online guide to grammar, style, and punctuation for
journalists that provides instruction in basic grammar, spelling, and
punctuation according to the Associated Press style. This page defines phrases
and introduces several types of phrases.
Prepositional
Phrases
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout introducing prepositional phrases and
includes a table of commonly used prepositions.
Verb
Phrases
ICAL
ICAL is an online ESL teacher-training Web site featuring brief grammar
review pages such as this one on verb
phrases.
plagiarism
Avoiding Plagiarism
Student Judicial Affairs, University of California, Davis
This Web site offers guidelines and advice for students on how to avoid
plagiarism and master ethical scholarship.
Avoiding
Plagiarism
Writing Center, Hamilton College
This site, written by Sharon Williams, offers general advice on citing
sources correctly and includes examples.
Plagiarism
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a discussion of plagiarism and includes links to other
helpful resources for those learning to cite sources correctly.
Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid
It
Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington
This site's guide to plagiarism offers good examples of how to recognize
acceptable and unacceptable paraphrases.
A Statement on
Plagiarism
Library, Capital Community College
This student-oriented Web site features a definition of plagiarism and some
examples of legitimate and inappropriate uses of source text in excerpted
writing.
point of view
Consistency: Making Pronoun Point of View
Consistent
Sentence Sense
This online textbook written by Evelyn Farbman and prepared for the Internet
by Charles Darling offers a brief review of pronoun usage for consistent point
of view.
Maintaining
Objectivity
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a helpful discussion of subjective versus objective tone and point of
view in writing and when to use one or the
other.
possessive case
Possessive Case
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
"The Tongue Untied" is an online guide to grammar, style, and punctuation for
journalists that provides instruction in basic grammar, spelling, and
punctuation according to the Associated Press style. This page reviews
possessive case and possessive pronoun usage.
Possessive Case
English Plus+
This Web page offers a brief explanation of possessive case.
Possessive Forms of
Nouns
Writing Lab Online, Bowling Green State University
This web page, prepared by Gregory M. Campbell, reviews a strategy for
forming possessive nouns correctly.
Pronoun
Case
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout introducing proper pronoun case
usage.
Using an Apostrophe to Show
Possession
The Department of English, University of Victoria
This page of an online writer's guide reviews the proper use of apostrophes
to show possession.
prepositions
Common
Prepositions
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features a table of common prepositions and prepositional
phrases.
Prepositions
Writing Den
This site offers a list of common prepositions. Each preposition is linked to
an example of its use in a sentence.
Prepositions: Locators in Time and
Space
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features tips on preposition usage as well as several interactive
quizzes.
What Is a
Preposition?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of prepositions and
prepositional phrases.
pronouns
Pronouns
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a concise review of the various categories of pronouns with examples of
correct usage.
Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews pronoun usage and the rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement. The site
also offers links to several interactive quizzes related to pronoun
rules.
What Is a
Pronoun?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of the various
types of pronouns.
run-on sentences
Run-On Sentence Comma
Splices
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a review of run-on sentences and includes links to several interactive
quizzes.
Run-On
Sentences
Academic Center, University of Houston, Victoria
This Web site reviews the problems with run-on sentences and the revisions
that correct them. It also provides some practice
exercises.
quotations
Effectively Using Direct
Quotations
Writing Center, University of Richmond
This Web site features brief guidelines on the correct use of long, short,
partial, or altered quotations in essays.
Indirect Quotations
Presented by Lucy Silver, this grammar reference Web site designed for
students and teachers of English or ESL features examples of indirect
quotations.
Making Quotes
Presented by Lucy Silver, this grammar reference Web site designed for
students and teachers of English or ESL features examples of direct
quotations.
MLA Quotations
Community College of Southern Nevada
This online handout offers a review of MLA style rules for using and citing
quotations.
Using Literary Quotations: Clarity and
Readability: Some Guidelines
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook offers tips for weaving quotations
smoothly and correctly into essays.
sentence construction
Building
Sentences
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a detailed overview of sentence
construction.
Sentence Construction
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This link takes the user to the sentence-construction section of the index
page to OWL's online handouts.
Writing Complete, Grammatically Correct
Sentences
Business Administration Program, University of Washington, Tacoma
This Web site features Evelyn Zent's online course handout explaining how to
write complete and effective sentences.
sentence fragments
Common Causes of Sentence
Fragments
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this review of sentence fragments and how to avoid
them written by Becky Marchant.
Sentence
Fragments
Writing Center Online Guide, Lynchburg College in Virginia
Created by Dana Jones and Dr. Elza Tiner, this page of an online writing
guide reviews how to recognize and fix sentence fragments.
Sentence Fragments
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of sentence fragments and how to correct
them.
Sentence Fragments
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a definition of sentence fragments and includes an interactive
quiz.
spelling
Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and
Verbs
Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL, Georgia State University
This site features a list of spelling rules for irregular nouns, irregular
plural formation of nouns, and irregular spelling of verb inflections, all
compiled by Susan Jones.
Some Rules and Suggestions About
Spelling
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers tips on correcting spelling mistakes as well as several interactive
quizzes on spelling.
Spelling
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This link takes the user to the spelling section of the index page to OWL's
online handouts.
style
Improving Your
Style
Writing Services, The Learning Commons, University of Guelph
This online handout offers sixteen steps to a clearer writing
style.
Style in Business
Writing
University of Oregon
Professor Dave Dusseau's course Web site offers a comparison of academic and
business writing to delineate points of business writing
style.
syntax
Dr. Syntax: Improving Your Writing of
Arguments
Elizabeth A. Dobbs, Department of English, Grinnell College
This Web site offers explanations and exercises designed to help the user
develop a deeper understanding of how the English language works and how
arguments work.
You Have to Pay Your
Syntax
Robert Beard, Bucknell University
This Web site features a brief discussion of the relation of syntax to
meaning.
tense
Consistency of Tense and Pronoun
Reference
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
uses examples to review the rules for consistency of tense and pronoun
reference.
Verb Tense
Writing Den
This site features a review of different verb tenses.
Verb Tense Consistency
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers a detailed review of the rules for verb tense
consistency.
Verb Tense
Introduction
EnglishPage.com
This online tutorial offers a review of verb tense rules as well as
interactive tests and exercises geared toward the student of English as a second
language.
transition
Adding Transitions
Department of Information and Computer Science, University of California,
Irvine
Professor Michael T. Goodrich offers a list of transitions and other tips for
coherent writing gleaned from his late teacher, Dr.
Tiemersma.
Coherence: Transitions Between
Ideas
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews four basic mechanical considerations in providing transitions between
ideas and offers an interactive quiz on the material
presented.
Transitions
Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center, Hamilton College
This online handout written by Philip DiGennaro offers advice on creating
effective transitions.
Transitions: Signals for Your
Reader
Student Learning Services, Concordia Counseling and Development, Concordia
University
This Web page lists transitions and the meanings they tend to
signal.
verbals
Verbals
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a review of usage rules for the participle,
the gerund, and the infinitive.
Verbals
This site offers Allen Hadworth's online handout reviewing verbal usage
rules.
Verbals
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout introducing verbals.
Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and
Infinitives
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a detailed review of the usage rules for
verbals.
Verbs and Verbals
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews rules for verbs and verbals and offers several interactive quizzes on
the material presented.
verbs
Irregular Verb
Page
EnglishPage.com, Language Dynamics
This site features a list of irregular verbs and their forms along with some
printable verb drills for practice.
Phrasal Verb Page
Dave's ESL Café
This site features a list of phrasal verbs along with meanings and
examples.
Verbs and Verbals
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews rules for verbs and verbals and offers several interactive quizzes on
the material presented.
What Is a
Verb?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers a definition of the
verb.
voice
Active and Passive
Voice
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a detailed review of usage guidelines for the active and
passive voice.
Recognizing the Passive
Voice
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout offers suggestions for recognizing and using the passive
voice.
Writing in the Active
Voice
Effective Writing Program, University of Western Ontario
This online handout offers guidelines for using the active voice and practice
exercises.
back to top
Style and Language
absolute words
Absolute Terms
Bartleby.com
Bartleby.com presents great books online, including many reference works.
This site provides the definition and description of absolute terms from The
American Heritage Book of English Usage.
abstract/concrete words
Abstract, Concrete, General, and Specific
Terms
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Written by Associate Professor John Friedlander of Southwest Tennessee
Community College, this site provides an overview of abstract versus concrete
language and general versus specific terms. The site is linked to the Guide to
Grammar and Writing Web site hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital
Community College.
Abstract/Concrete
Language
The Center for Teaching and Learning at Idaho State University
This online handout offers brief definitions of abstract versus concrete
language and general versus specific words.
Words
Clayton E. Samels, The University of Akron, Wayne College
This basic writing course document offers definitions for abstract, concrete,
general, and specific language.
affectation
Affectation
Xrefer
This site offers a definition of the term affectation, taken from
The Oxford Companion to the English Language.
Avoiding
Affectation
The Howe Writing Initiative, Miami University
This site offers a brief tip on how to avoid affectation, written by Lisa
Mahle-Grisez.
allusions
Inference: Association and
Reference
www.criticalreading.com
Dan Kurland authored this brief article on inference and allusions. The site
includes links to related topics.
ambiguity
Ambiguity
Department of English, Emory University
This site offers a brief discussion of the literary meaning of ambiguity
written by Harry Rusche.
antonyms
Finding Antonyms on Thesaurus.com
Lexico LLC
The online version of Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and
Phrases.
awkwardness
Strategies for Improving Sentence
Clarity
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of strategies for writing clear sentences
including lots of helpful examples.
business writing style
Business Writing
Tips
Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University
This site features a writing tip by Deb Ballam illustrating how to eliminate
unnecessary words in writing.
Style in Business
Writing
University of Oregon
Professor Dave Dusseau's course Web site offers a comparison of academic and
business writing to delineate points of business writing style.
The Poetics of Business
Writing
Lisa Cote, Wording Services
This site offers a comparison of poetic and business writing in order to
emphasize strong business writing techniques.
buzz words
Buzz Words
Investopedia.com
This list of popular buzz words used in the world of investment offers
definitions and links to related cultural sites.
BuzzWhack
John Walston
This lighthearted site put together by a former newspaper editor is dedicated
to the meaningful use of buzz words.
clarity
Clarity in Writing: Use of
Articles
University of Sussex Language Institute
This site offers a brief description of points relevant to article usage and
clarity in writing.
Clear Writing: Ten Principles of Clear
Statement
University Extension, University of Missouri
Adapted from The Technique of Clear Writing by the Gunning-Mueller
Clear Writing Institute, Inc., this site outlines ten principles that lead to
clear writing.
Strategies for Improving Sentence
Clarity
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips and strategies for writing effective, clear
sentences.
clichés
Cliché Site
ClichéSite.com
An alphabetical listing of clichés in English, this site offers definitions
and notes the country of origin of each
cliché.
clipped words
Clipped
Words
The Teacher's Desk
This Web site offers resources to teachers of grades five and six, including
an assignment on shortened forms of longer words in
English.
coherence
Coherence
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips for coherent writing.
Coherence: Transitions Between
Ideas
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers tips on making coherent transitions in writing and includes an
interactive quiz.
comparison
Making
Comparisons
Professor G. Labanick, University of South Carolina, Spartanburg
This site presents an example of comparison by turning a list of descriptive
information on two items into effective sentences that compare the
two.
Resources for Writers: Comparison
Writing
C. Sandra Jamieson, Drew University
This site presents guidelines for using comparison in academic papers
including a list of questions for peer review of
drafts.
compound words
Compound
Words
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides a definition and overview of compound nouns including an interactive
quiz.
Spelling Compound Words With or Without
Hyphens
Stephen Wilbers, Author
Part of an online guide to writing, this site lists compound words according
to how they are spelled with regard to hyphens, spaces, and
usage.
conciseness/wordiness
Conciseness: Methods of Eliminating
Wordiness
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers ten methods of eliminating wordiness.
contractions
Contractions
EnglishCLUB.com
This Web site offers links to lists of commonly used
contractions.
Using Contractions
About.com
Part of the Homework Help Web site, this page, presented by Kenneth
Beare,
offers a chart of common English contractions.
defining terms
Definitional
Techniques
The Writing Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
This site presents Professor Merrill Whitburn's overview of techniques used
by academic and professional writers for defining
terms.
diction
Diction
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a brief definition of the term
diction.
dictionaries
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth
Edition
Bartleby.com
This site provides a searchable online version of the American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language.
Merriam-Webster Online
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
An online version of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionaryand
Collegiate Thesaurusis available on this site, along with lots of
resource links.
direct address
Commas in Direct Address
RHL School
A brief review of comma usage in direct address as well as exercises are
available on this Web site devoted to free teacher
resources.
double negatives
Double Negatives
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this brief overview of double negatives, including a
practice exercise, written by Judith Kilborn.
Double
Negatives
Professor Paul Brians, Washington State University
This site offers a brief discussion of double
negatives.
emphasis
Visual Devices for Achieving
Emphasis
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of visual approaches to achieving emphasis
in writing using such strategies as font styles, punctuation marks, and word
position.
English, varieties of
The American Dialect Home
Page
Claudio Salvucci, Evolution Publishing
This site offers links to national and international resources for those
interested in American and English dialects.
Varieties of English
Language Samples Project, Anthropology Department, University of Arizona
This Web site contains information on general topics such as phonetics,
phonology, and IPA transcription, as well as information on different varieties
of English, such as Southern States English, African-American English, and
British English.
euphemisms
Euphemisms
Paul Shoebottom, Frankfurt International School
This site presents a brief overview of euphemisms geared toward students of
English as a second language.
figures of speech
Figures of
Speech
Department of Computer Science, University of York
Professor Susan Stepney sponsors this site listing definitions of figures of
speech taken from various sources.
Figures of
Speech
About.com
Part of the Homework Help Web site, this page, presented by Cathy Spalding,
is designed to help students understand how figures of speech can add flair to
writing.
foreign words in English
Foreign Words and Phrases
The Learning Network, Inc.
This Web site features an alphabetical listing and definitions of foreign
terms that are commonly used in English.
functional shift
Functional Shift
Bartleby.com
This site features the entry on the grammatical process of functional shift
from The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, written by Kenneth
G. Wilson.
The Functional
Shift
The Writer's Workshop, University of Illinois
This site features the Encyclopedia Britannicaentry on functional
shift.
Methods of Word
Formation
Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins
David Wilton offers explanations of the four major categories of word
formation on this site.
glossaries
Glossaries
Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN)
OPLIN offers links to glossaries organized by subject matter on this web
site.
Glossary of International
Technology
Microsoft.com
This site features an alphabetical glossary of terms related to international
technology compiled from Developing International Software, published by Microsoft
Press.
gobbledygook
Gobbledygook
Susan Hagedorn, Department of English, Virginia Tech
This site offers a definition of gobbledygook as a term for overly wordy and,
therefore, weak writing.
Gobbledygook
World Wide Words
Gobbledygook, or unintelligible language, is explained in the "Weird Words"
section of this Web site.
Jargon, Weasel Words, and
Gobbledygook
California State University, Northridge
This site offers a helpful selection of guidelines relating problematic use
of language to problems in writing style.
idioms
English Idioms: Sayings and
Slang
Wayne Magnuson, Author
This site offers a searchable database of English idioms and their
definitions.
Prepositional Idioms (Phrasal Verbs)
Patricia Goldstein, Author
This document is a selected list of prepositional idioms developed for The
Business Writer's Handbook and the Handbook of Technical Writing by
Patricia Goldstein, ESL composition instructor at the University of Wisconsin -
Milwaukee.
Prepositions to Use with Common
Words
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout features a list of prepositions to use with common verbs,
adjectives, and idiomatic expressions.
Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs
(Idioms)
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of verbal idioms and includes lists of
separable, inseparable, and intransitive phrasal
verbs.
intensifiers
Deadwood: Empty or Pretentious Expressions Including Weak
Intensifiers, Redundancies, Euphemisms, Jargon, and
Clichés
Collin County Community College District
This site lists phrases and words to be avoided in good
writing.
Intensifiers
English Rules
Lucy Silver has created this Web site geared to teachers and students,
offering a simple review of intensifier usage.
Qualifiers/Intensifiers
Online Writing Support, Towson University
This site features a brief definition and examples of
qualifiers/intensifiers.
jargon
Avoiding Artificial
Language
The Writing Center, State University of West Georgia
This site presents some examples of artificial language in the form of
pretensions, jargon, euphemisms, and doublespeak.
Avoiding Slang, Jargon, and
Cliché
Online Writing and Learning, LeTourneau University
This Web site offers a tutorial designed to help the user recognize and
revise slang, jargon, and cliché.
Dictionary of Management Jargon: What Your
Boss Meant to Say
William Wieker, Author
This site offers a compilation of jargon used in business along with
explanations and definitions in plain language.
The Jargon Dictionary
Astrian Corp.
The Jargon File Web site features a comprehensive compendium of
computer-hacker slang and related information, including a dictionary of hacker
jargon.
Jargon Files
The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
This site offer resources related to the use of jargon, including a
jargon-finder database and an article by Tony Proscio on how to avoid tomorrow's
jargon.
malapropisms
Malapropisms
This Web page, designed by Dan Gookin, features a definition and list of
malapropisms originally collected and compiled by John
Ehrman.
new words
Neologisms—A Dictionary of Findable Words and
Phrases
Richard Leveridge, Editor
This Web site features comprehensive information on new and evolving words
and phrases in the English language, with special reference to U.K. English
usage. Many of the words are not listed on the Internet or findable by
searches.
Neologisms in Journalistic Text
Research and Development Unit for English Studies, The University of
Liverpool
This Web site features a series of lists of neologisms chosen arbitrarily
from a newspaper source and presented in context for the benefit of teachers of
English language who want to stay abreast of new word usage.
New Words in English
This Web site's list of new words and novel uses of words in English was
compiled by Suzanne Kemmer's students at Rice University.
The Word Spy
Logophilia
This Web site has a database of recently coined words, existing words that
have enjoyed a recent renaissance, and older words that are being used in new
ways.
nominalizations
Nominalization
Department of Physics, The Ohio State University
This online handout for John Wilkins's course entitled Writing and
Speaking About Physics and Astronomydefines and gives examples of
nominalizations including some legitimate uses of them.
Nominalizations
Center for Teaching and Learning, Lawrence University
This online version of a writing pamphlet by Jocelyn Sykora covers
nominalizations and offers tips for effective usage.
Nominalizations and
Adjectivizations
Legal Research and Writing Program, Chicago-Kent College of Law
This site offers some brief examples of correct and incorrect usage of
nominalizations (verbs that have been turned into nouns) and adjectivizations
(verbs that have been turned into
adjectives).
pace
Writer's Encyclopedia:
Pace
WritersMarket.com
This online resource that supports the Writer's Marketpublishing
guidebook series offers a brief encyclopedia entry on the tempo of written
work.
parallel structure
Columns on Parallel Structure
Stephen Wilbers, Author
Columnist Stephen Wilbers offers this brief guide to establishing and
maintaining parallel structure in writing.
Parallel Structure
Writing Center, Emory University
This online handout features examples of parallel structure in
sentences.
Parallel Structure
Writing Lab, Bellevue Community College
This online writing lab handout features examples of parallel and nonparallel
structure in writing.
Parallel Structure in Professional
Writing
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout features examples that demonstrate how to implement
parallelism in preparing employment
documents.
paraphrasing
Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own
Words
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers tips on how to borrow from a source without
plagiarizing.
Paraphrasing: Restating Ideas in Your Own
Words
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout offers tips on when and how to
paraphrase.
Quoting and
Paraphrasing
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook offers resources for learning how to
correctly and legitimately quote and paraphrase from outside sources in academic
writing.
Using
Paraphrases
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this brief guide to using paraphrases including
examples and hints.
point of view
Consistency: Making Pronoun Point of View
Consistent
Sentence Sense
This online textbook written by Evelyn Farbman and prepared for the Internet
by Charles Darling offers a brief review of pronoun usage for consistent point
of view.
Maintaining
Objectivity
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a helpful discussion of subjective versus objective tone and point of
view in writing and when to use one or the
other.
positive writing
Writing Positive and Routine
Messages
Business Information Systems Department, Western Michigan University
This site features a comprehensive discussion of the value and function of
positive messages in day-to-day business operations as well as helpful examples
of positive phrasing and sentence structure.
prefixes
Prefixes
Professor Patricia Green Harris, Texas A & M University
ESL instructor Patricia Green Harris provides this list of
prefixes.
repetition
Cohesion: Using Repetition and Reference Words to Emphasize
Key Ideas in Your Writing
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this guide to using keywords and reference words to
create cohesion in a piece of writing, written by Judith Kilborn and Nathan
Kriei.
Repetition vs. Elegant
Variation
Thinkage, Ltd.
Novelist James Alan Gardner offers this online guide to avoiding the
distracting use of repetition in prose
writing.
rhetorical questions
Rhetorical
Questions
Department of English, University of Central Florida
This Web page features a definition of rhetorical
questions.
style
Improving Your
Style
Writing Services, The Learning Commons, University of Guelph
This online handout offers sixteen steps to clearer writing
style.
Style in Business
Writing
University of Oregon
Professor Dave Dusseau's course Web site offers a comparison of academic and
business writing to delineate points of business writing
style.
subordination
Clauses: The Essential Building
Blocks
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews clause function and offers several interactive quizzes.
Coordination/Subordination
Department of Instructional Technologies, San Francisco State University
This online handout features examples and exercises related to combining
ideas into single sentences.
suffixes
Spelling: -ible vs.
-able
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers word lists and exercises related to word roots
that use ibleversus able
suffixes.
synonyms
Thesauri
LibrarySpot.com
The LibrarySpot.com Web site is a free virtual library resource center for
educators, students, librarians, families, and businesses. This page has links
to online thesauri.
telegraphic style
Avoiding Telegraphic
Abstracts
Writing Center, Colorado State University
This section of an online writing guide explains why to avoid a highly
condensed style when writing abstracts.
thesaurus
Merriam-Webster Online
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
This Web site offers a searchable online version of Merriam-Webster's
Collegiate Dictionaryand Collegiate Thesaurusas well as other
resources related to Merriam-Webster's reference books.
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus
Bartleby.com
Bartleby.com presents great books online, including many reference works.
This site provides a searchable online version of Roget's II: The New
Thesauruspublished by Houghton Mifflin.
tone
It Ain't What You Say, It's the Way You Say
It….
Thought You Should Know
This online article written by Jennifer Stewart discusses the importance and
effect of tone in writing.
Tone
Writing Tutorial Services, Old Dominion University
This page of an online writing guidebook discusses the significance of tone
in writing.
Tone: A Matter of
Attitude
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a discussion of how tone reveals attitude in a piece of
writing.
Tone in Business
Writing
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers an in-depth discussion of how to go about creating the
proper tone when writing business documents.
trite language
The Trite Trophy: The Worst Sports Clichés of
2001
Post-Gazette.com
This lighthearted article written by sports columnist Gene Collier proposes
some clichés for the 2001 "trite trophy" award.
Word Choice
Online Writing Center, Black Hills State University
This online handout offers some specific examples of how to revise sentences
for effective word choice.
unity
Coherence and Unity
Technology Studies in Education Research Portal, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
This site features an online lesson handout covering coherence in writing
written by F. Scott Walters.
Unity
The Writing Program, Hamilton College
This online handout offers a perspective on unity in writing as it relates to
paragraph construction.
Writing Resources: Unity, Coherence,
Development
Writing Center, Wheaton College
This page of an online writing guide describes how unity, coherence, and
development are essential elements of an effectively written
paragraph.
usage
American Heritage Book of English Usage
Bartleby.com
Bartleby.com presents great books online, including many reference works.
This site provides a searchable online version of The American Heritage Book
of English Usagepublished by Houghton Mifflin.
English Usage, Style and Composition
Bartleby.com
Bartleby.com presents great books online, including many reference works.
This site provides links to their online resources for English usage, style, and
composition.
Grumpy Martha's Guide to Grammar and
Usage
Encarta
This site features Martha Brockenbrough's online column offering low-key tips
to common grammar problems.
Language Debates by Diana
Hacker
Bedford/St. Martin's
This site features expert viewpoints on controversial issues of grammar and
usage, part of an online supplement to Diana Hacker's The Bedford Handbook,
sixth edition.
Language Pet Peeves
National Public Radio
This site features links to audio archives from Weekend All Things
Consideredsegments presented by language expert Richard
Lederer.
vague words
Commonly Misused
Words
Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, University of
Glasgow
This online handout gives examples of the common misusage of particular
words.
word choice
Choose Your Words Carefully
Hunter's Green Marketing
This site features Bill Buell's article on how to choose the right words when
writing marketing materials.
Exercise Central
Bedford/St. Martin's
The largest collection of editing exercises available online, Exercise
Central provides practice with mastering the skills of editing grammar, style,
punctuation, and mechanics.
Style: Sentence Combination and Word
Choice
Center for the Study of Teaching and Writing, Ohio State University
This online handout offers tips for revising sentences for clarity and word
choice.
Word Choice
Way to Write!, The University of Calgary
This page of an interactive guide to writing offers tips for editing
diction.
"you" viewpoint
Psychological Detail and
Dramatization
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a brief discussion of two types of "you viewpoint"
especially important in sales writing.
Writing with Attitude—The "You"
Attitude
Content Exchange
This site features an article by author and writing teacher Crawford Kilian
on how to write in a way that engages the reader on terms of equality and shared
interests.
"You-Attitude"
Guidelines
On-Line Writing Lab, Utah Valley State College
This online handout offers guidelines on effective ways to demonstrate the
"you attitude" in business writing by considering the reader's feelings and
adopting a tone of respect and
courtesy.
back to top
Sentences and Paragraphs
clauses
Adverb
Clauses
English Language Centre, University of Victoria
This site presents an online introduction to adverbs with links to further
study and exercises.
Building
Clauses
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a definition of clauses with links to more
detailed information and practice exercises.
Independent and Dependent Clauses
(Definitions)
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers definitions of clauses and examples of
usage.
coherence
Coherence
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips for coherent writing.
Coherence: Transitions Between
Ideas
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers tips on making coherent transitions in writing and includes an
interactive quiz.
complements (grammar)
Complements
Writers' Workshop, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Part of an online grammar handbook, this site explains and illustrates the
basic concepts of complements.
The Adverbial and Adverbial
Complement
The HyperText Books, Daniel Kies, Author, Papyr.com
Cited as a model online composition course, the HyperText Books is a highly
usable Web site that provides a collection of handouts, exercises, notes, and
other resources to writing students. This page is a review of the adverbial and
adverbial complement.
The Object Complement
The HyperText Books, Daniel Kies, Author, Papyr.com
This page of the HyperText Books Web site is a review of the object
complement.
The Subject Complement
The HyperText Books, Daniel Kies, Author, Papyr.com
This page of the HyperText Books Web site is a review of the subject
complement.
dangling modifiers
Avoiding Misplaced and Dangling
Modifiers
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout reviews modifiers and offers examples of proper modifier
usage.
Dangling
Modifiers
Academic Center, University of Houston, Victoria
This site offers a review of modifier usage with practice
exercises.
Dangling
Modifiers
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of dangling modifiers.
Misplaced and Dangling
Modifiers
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Frances Peck, this site offers definitions and examples of misplaced and
dangling modifiers.
Modifier Placement
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides succinct guidelines for proper modifier placement and includes
interactive quizzes.
expletives
Expletives
Online Writing Support, Towson University
This site offers a brief definition of expletives and includes examples of
usage.
Expletives: Use Them
Sparingly
Writing Center, Franklin & Marshall College
This downloadable online document outlines some of the problems of using
expletives when writing.
garbled sentences
Strategies for Improving Sentence
Clarity
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of strategies for effective sentence
construction.
mixed constructions
Confusion: Its Sources and
Remedies
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers advice on finding and revising sources of confusion in writing such as
mixed constructions, pronoun problems, and mixed metaphors.
Mixed
Constructions
English Department, University of Calgary
This page of an interactive guide to grammar offers guidelines for avoiding
mixed constructions.
modifiers
Dangling Modifiers
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers definitions and examples of dangling modifiers along with
suggested revisions.
Modifiers
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Frances Peck, this site is the chapter overview of modifiers and includes links
to six different categories of modifier usage and
function.
objects
The Direct Object
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
"The Tongue Untied" is an online guide to grammar, style, and punctuation for
journalists that provides instruction in basic grammar, spelling, and
punctuation according to the Associated Press style. This page defines the
direct object and gives examples.
The Indirect Object
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
This page of "The Tongue Untied" defines the indirect object and gives
examples.
The Object of the Preposition
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
This page of "The Tongue Untied" defines the object of the preposition and
gives examples.
The Object of the Verbal
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
This page of "The Tongue Untied" defines the object of the verbal and gives
examples.
Predicates, Objects, and Complements
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a concise review of predicates, objects, and complements including
examples of the different types of each.
paragraphs
The Paragraph
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers basic instruction and advice on creating
understandable and coherent paragraphs.
Paragraph Development and Topic
Sentences
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers example paragraphs that illuminate the effective use of topic sentences
and paragraph development.
Paragraphs
Writing Den
This site provides links to tips on paragraphs including the parts of a
paragraph, kinds of paragraphs, and how to write a
paragraph.
phrases
The Garden of Phrases
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers an overview of the construction and function of phrases as well as an
interactive quiz incorporating the material presented.
Phrases
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
"The Tongue Untied" is an online guide to grammar, style, and punctuation for
journalists that provides instruction in basic grammar, spelling, and
punctuation according to the Associated Press style. This page defines phrases
and introduces several types of phrases.
Prepositional
Phrases
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout introducing prepositional phrases and
includes a table of commonly used prepositions.
Verb
Phrases
ICAL
ICAL is an online ESL teacher-training Web site featuring brief grammar
review pages such as this one on verb
phrases.
restrictive and nonrestrictive elements
Restrictive and Nonrestrictive
Elements
Society for Technical Communication, Atlanta Chapter
Jewel Kennington explains the difference between thatand which
on this Web site.
Restrictive and Nonrestrictive
Elements
Writing Center, Emory University
This Web site offers a review of restrictive and nonrestrictive
elements.
sentence construction
Building
Sentences
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a detailed overview of sentence
construction.
Sentence Construction
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This link takes the user to the sentence-construction section of the index
page to OWL's online handouts.
Writing Complete, Grammatically Correct
Sentences
Business Administration Program, University of Washington, Tacoma
This Web site features Evelyn Zent's online course handout explaining how to
write complete and effective sentences.
sentence faults
Basic Sentence Faults
Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary
This site features Associate Professor Robert M. Seiler's review of eleven
different sentence faults with examples.
Sentence Faults
Collin County Community College District
This online handout reviews common sentence
faults.
sentence fragments
Common Causes of Sentence
Fragments
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this review of sentence fragments and how to avoid
them written by Becky Marchant.
Sentence
Fragments
Writing Center Online Guide, Lynchburg College in Virginia
Created by Dana Jones and Dr. Elza Tiner, this page of an online writing
guide reviews how to recognize and fix sentence fragments.
Sentence Fragments
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of sentence fragments and how to correct
them.
Sentence Fragments
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a definition of sentence fragments and includes an interactive
quiz.
transition
Adding Transitions
Department of Information and Computer Science, University of California,
Irvine
Professor Michael T. Goodrich offers a list of transitions and other tips for
coherent writing gleaned from his late teacher, Dr.
Tiemersma.
Coherence: Transitions Between
Ideas
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews four basic mechanical considerations in providing transitions between
ideas and offers an interactive quiz on the material
presented.
Transitions
Nesbitt-Johnston Writing Center, Hamilton College
This online handout written by Philip DiGennaro offers advice on creating
effective transitions.
Transitions: Signals for Your
Reader
Student Learning Services, Concordia Counseling and Development, Concordia
University
This Web page lists transitions and the meanings they tend to
signal.
unity
Coherence and Unity
Technology Studies in Education Research Portal, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
This site features an online lesson handout covering coherence in writing
written by F. Scott Walters.
Unity
The Writing Program, Hamilton College
This online handout offers a perspective on unity in writing as it relates to
paragraph construction.
Writing Resources: Unity, Coherence,
Development
Writing Center, Wheaton College
This page of an online writing guide describes how unity, coherence, and
development are essential elements of an effectively written
paragraph.
back to top
Parts of Speech and Grammar
adjectives
Adjectives
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers usage guidelines for the adjective as well as interactive quizzes
incorporating the material presented.
What Is an
Adjective?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of adjective usage
including links to key terms.
adverbs
Adverbs
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a succinct review of adverb usage and includes an interactive
quiz.
Using
Adverbs
About.com
Part of the Homework Help Web site, this page, presented by Kenneth Beare,
offers brief rules of adverb usage and includes links to other grammar
topics.
What Is an
Adverb?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of adverb usage
including links to key terms.
agreement
Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a review of pronouns and pronoun-antecedent agreement and includes
several interactive quizzes.
Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of pronoun-antecedent agreement,
written by Maggie Escalas.
Subject-Verb
Agreement
The Writing Center, City College of New York
This Web handout presents an overview of subject-verb
agreement.
appositives
Appositives
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of appositives and includes an interactive
exercise.
Appositives
Writer's Workshop, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This site offers a brief definition of appositives with
examples.
Appositives
The Writing Center, Ball State University
Definitions and examples of appositives are offered on this
site.
Daily Grammar Lessons 126-130: Parts of the
Sentence—Appositives
Word Place
This site offers brief lessons on appositives, supported by exercises with
answer keys.
case
Noun and Pronoun
Case
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers definitions and examples of noun and pronoun
characteristics.
What Is
Case?
SIL International
An extract from the LinguaLinks Library, this page explains the grammatical
term caseand offers definitions of various kinds of
cases.
conjunctions
Conjunctions
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
covers rules for conjunction usage, including coordinating, subordinating and
correlative conjunctions.
Grammar and Style: Conjunctions and
Adverbs
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
This site offers a brief review of rules for punctuating conjunctions and
adverbs.
What Is a Conjunction?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of conjunction
usage including links to key terms.
functional shift
Functional Shift
Bartleby.com
This site features the entry on the grammatical process of functional shift
from The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, written by Kenneth
G. Wilson.
The Functional
Shift
The Writer's Workshop, University of Illinois
This site features the Encyclopedia Britannicaentry on functional
shift.
Methods of Word
Formation
Wilton's Word and Phrase Origins
David Wilton offers explanations of the four major categories of word
formation on this site.
gender
Gender, Adjectives
UltraLingua.net
This site offers a brief guide to adjective usage along with links to other
grammar topics.
Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ
Aether Lumina
This site features a discussion of gender-neutral alternatives to gendered
pronouns, written by John Williams.
Gender, Nouns
UltraLingua.net
This site offers a brief guide to noun usage along with links to other
grammar topics.
The Gender of Nouns
The Internet Grammar of English
This site features the entry on the gender of nouns taken from The Survey
of English Usage.
grammar
Grammar Slammer
English Plus+
This site presents an easy-to-use online grammar reference handbook which is
also available as software.
Grumpy Martha's Guide to Grammar and
Usage
Encarta
This site features Martha Brockenbrough's online column offering low-key tips
on common grammar problems.
HyperGrammar
The Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa
This site offers an alphabetical listing of key grammatical terms with links
to definitions and examples.
Glossary of Grammatical
Terms
Mark H Nodine, Department of Computer Science, Brown University
An alphabetical glossary of grammatical terms is featured on this
site.
interjection
Interjections
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a brief definition of interjections.
Interjections
Dr. Ed Vavra, Pennsylvania College of Technology
This site offers a review of interjections including a definition and a
discussion of interjections as subordinate clauses.
What Is an
Interjection?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers a definition of
interjections.
mood
ESL Grammar Hotline: Verb Mood
English Language Institute, University of Delaware
This site offers advice, in question-and-answer format, on the correct usage
of verb forms that tend to be difficult, especially for students of English as a
second language.
The Indicative and Imperative
Moods
Xenos Evangelical Church, Columbus, OH
This site features a brief discussion of verb mood in relation to scripture
and excerpted examples of the imperative and indicative mood in biblical
writing.
Verbs: Conditional
Mood
Word One, The Word Association, Inc.
Part of a computerized writing and language-skills instructional program,
this site features a low-key and accessible explanation of when to use the
conditional mood.
nouns
Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and
Verbs
Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL, Georgia State University
This site features a list of rules for irregular plural formation of nouns, a
list of irregular nouns showing singular and plural forms, and a list of rules
for irregular spelling of verb inflections, all compiled by Susan
Jones.
Nouns
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features a definition of nouns and explanations of categories and forms of
nouns.
Nouns
WritingDen
The Writing Den Web site is designed for middle- and high-school students
seeking to improve their English reading, comprehension, and writing skills.
This Web page offers a definition nouns and explains their
function.
What Is a Noun?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of noun usage and
function including links to key terms.
number
Apostrophe's... Apostroph'es... Uses of the
Apostrophe
Writing Center, Emory University
This site features a brief review of apostrophe usage.
Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and
Verbs
Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL, Georgia State University
This site features a list of rules for irregular plural formation of nouns, a
list of irregular nouns showing singular and plural forms, and a list of rules
for irregular spelling of verb inflections, all compiled by Susan
Jones.
Spelling: Noun
Plurals
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of rules for making nouns
plural.
parts of speech
Identification of Parts of
Speech
Interlink Language Centers
Mark Feder has created a review of the parts of speech and a related
interactive quiz designed for students of English as a second language.
Parts of Speech
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site contains links to the various OWLl online handouts related to parts
of speech.
Parts of
Speech
Exploring English, Shared Visions Unlimited
This section of the Exploring English Web site describes the parts of speech that define the English
language.
The Parts of
Speech
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of eight parts of
speech.
person
Consistency: Making Pronoun Point of View
Consistent
Sentence Sense Online
Written by Evelyn Farbman and prepared for the Internet by Charles Darling of
Capital Community College, this page of an online writer's guide covers pronoun
point of view.
possessive case
Possessive Case
School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
"The Tongue Untied" is an online guide to grammar, style, and punctuation for
journalists that provides instruction in basic grammar, spelling, and
punctuation according to the Associated Press style. This page reviews
possessive case and possessive pronoun usage.
Possessive Case
English Plus+
This Web page offers a brief explanation of possessive case.
Possessive Forms of
Nouns
Writing Lab Online, Bowling Green State University
This Web page, created by Gregory M. Campbell, reviews a strategy for forming
possessive nouns correctly.
Pronoun
Case
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout introducing proper case
usage.
Using an Apostrophe to Show
Possession
The Department of English, University of Victoria
This page of an online writer's guide reviews the proper use of apostrophes
to show possession.
prepositions
Common
Prepositions
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features a table of common prepositions and prepositional
phrases.
Prepositions
Writing Den
This site offers a list of common prepositions. Each preposition is linked to
an example of its use in a sentence.
Prepositions: Locators in Time and
Space
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features tips on preposition usage as well as several interactive
quizzes.
What Is a
Preposition?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of prepositions and
prepositional phrases.
pronoun reference
Consistency of Tense and Pronoun
Reference
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers examples of revisions that correct for consistency of tense and pronoun
reference as well as an interactive quiz incorporating the material
presented.
The Grammar Outlaw: Unclear Pronoun
Reference
English Department, Acadia University
The Special Grammar Unit Web site is an online grammar guide. This Web page
reviews unclear pronoun reference and includes a link to
quizzes.
Pronoun
Reference
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Dorothy Turner, this site reviews the correct relation of pronouns to their
antecedents.
Pronoun Reference: Clear
Pronouns
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout reviewing clear pronoun
usage.
Using Pronouns
Clearly
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a brief review of using
pronouns.
pronouns
Pronouns
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers a concise review of the various categories of pronouns with examples of
correct pronoun usage.
Pronouns and Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews pronoun usage and the rules for pronoun-antecedent agreement. The site
also offers links to several interactive quizzes related to pronoun
rules.
What Is a
Pronoun?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers definitions and examples of the various
types of pronouns.
substantives
Substantives
Linguistics Program, Florida International University
Professor Greg Bowe's course materials Web site features this online handout
reviewing substantives, or words that manifest the functions of gender, person,
number, countability, or case.
tense
Consistency of Tense and Pronoun
Reference
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
uses examples to review the rules for consistency of tense and pronoun
reference.
Verb Tense
Writing Den
This site features a review of different verb tenses.
Verb Tense Consistency
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This online handout offers a detailed review of the rules for verb tense
consistency.
Verb Tense
Introduction
EnglishPage.com
This online tutorial offers a review of verb tense rules as well as
interactive tests and exercises geared toward the student of English as a second
language.
verbals
Verbals
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
David Megginson, this site offers a review of usage rules for the participle,
the gerund, and the infinitive.
Verbals
This site offers Allen Hadworth's online handout reviewing verbal usage
rules.
Verbals
Writing Center, Tidewater Community College
This site features an online handout introducing verbals.
Verbals: Gerunds, Participles, and
Infinitives
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a detailed review of the usage rules for
verbals.
Verbs and Verbals
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews rules for verbs and verbals and offers several interactive quizzes on
the material presented.
verbs
Irregular Verb
Page
EnglishPage.com, Language Dynamics
This site features a list of irregular verbs and their forms along with some
printable verb drills for practice.
Phrasal Verb Page
Dave's ESL Café
This site features a list of phrasal verbs along with meanings and
examples.
Verbs and Verbals
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews rules for verbs and verbals and offers several interactive quizzes on
the material presented.
What Is a
Verb?
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Heather MacFadyen, this site offers a definition of the
verb.
voice
Active and Passive
Voice
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a detailed review of usage guidelines for the active and
passive voice.
Recognizing the Passive
Voice
The Writing Center, Arizona State University
This online handout offers suggestions for recognizing and using the passive
voice.
Writing in the Active
Voice
Effective Writing Program, University of Western Ontario
This online handout offers guidelines for using the active voice and practice
exercises.
back to top
Punctuation and Mechanics
abbreviations
Abbreviations
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides succinct guidelines for common abbreviations including titles,
numerals, foreign and geographical terms, acronyms, and how to use spacing and
periods.
Acronyms and
Abbreviations
The Michigan Electronic Library
Sponsored by the Michigan Library, this site provides links to electronic
resources for acronyms and abbreviations, including searchable databases and
specialized listings of acronyms used in professional fields such as astronomy,
health care, and the military.
Acronym Finder
Mountain Data Systems
A searchable database of more than 235,000 abbreviations and
acronyms, this site covers the areas
of computers, technology, telecommunications, and the military.
Official USPS
Abbreviations
U.S. Postal Service
This site specifies abbreviations for states and protectorates as well as
streets and other geographical names.
acronyms and initialisms
Acronyms and
Abbreviations
The Michigan Electronic Library
Sponsored by the Michigan Library, this site provides links to electronic
resources for acronyms and abbreviations, including searchable databases and
specialized listings of acronyms used in professional fields such as astronomy,
health care, and the military.
Acronym Finder
Mountain Data Systems
A searchable database of more than 235,000 abbreviations and
acronyms, Acronym Finder covers the
areas of computers, technology, telecommunications, and the
military.
The Opaui Guide to Lists of Acronyms, Abbreviations, and
Initialisms on the World Wide Web
Opaui Translators
An alphabetized list of links to Internet Web sites for acronyms,
abbreviations, and initialisms, this site includes a wide range of international
and professionally specific resources.
Punctuation and Writing: Acronyms and
Initialisms
Scribe Consulting
This site offers a tip describing acronyms and initialisms extracted from
Scribe's book Better Writing Skills. Included on the site is a link to a
downloadable chapter of the book.
ampersands
Punctuation and Writing: All About
Ampersands
Scribe Consulting
This site offers a tip describing ampersands extracted from Scribe's book
Better Writing Skills.
apostrophes
Apostrophes
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features the apostrophe section of Jane Straus's grammar reference
guide and handbook, including a practice exercise and test.
Apostrophes
Writing Lab, Bellevue Community College
This site presents a brief overview of apostrophe usage, including
examples.
The Apostrophe
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of apostrophe usage and includes an
interactive exercise.
brackets
The
Bracket
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides succinct guidelines for the use of
brackets.
capitalization
Capitalization
Professor Steve Tripp, University of Aizu
This site offers a list of capitalization rules and some
exercises.
colons
The Colon
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers tips on colon usage and includes an animated exercise and interactive
quizzes.
Colons
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features the colon section of Jane Straus's grammar reference guide
and handbook, including a practice exercise and test.
Colon Rules
The Write Place, St. Cloud University
Learning Education Online (LEO), the home page for the writing center at St.
Cloud University, presents this overview of rules for colon
usage.
commas
Commas, Commas, and More
Commas
The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
This site features an online handout reviewing seven points about comma
usage.
Proofreading for
Commas
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers tips for spotting and correcting comma errors while
proofreading.
Rules for Comma Usage
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
provides a review of comma usage and includes links to several interactive
quizzes.
Using Commas
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a review of comma use and
abuse.
contractions
Contractions
EnglishCLUB.com
This Web site offers links to lists of commonly used
contractions.
Using Contractions
About.com
Part of the Homework Help Web site, this page, presented by Kenneth
Beare,
offers a chart of common English contractions.
dashes
The
Dash
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews rules for proper use of the dash.
Dashes
Department of English, University of Victoria
Part of an online writer's guide, this site presents a brief review of dash
usage.
Dashes and Hyphens
IT and Communication, Jukka Korpela
This site presents a useful overview of how computer text processing has
impinged on the use of dashes and hyphens.
Grammar and Style:
Dashes
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center
This site offers examples of effective use of the
dash.
dates
The Right Way to Write
Dates
ETimes
This site reviews the correct way to write dates according to the
international standard.
Writing of Calendar Dates in All-Numeric
Form
Cataloger's Reference Shelf, The Library Corporation
This site offers the text of the international standard for the writing of
calendar dates.
diacritical marks
Keystrokes—Diacritical Marks on the Standard
Keyboard
Rice UNIX Facility, Rice University
This site lists Macintosh and Windows keystrokes for diacritical marks on the
standard keyboard.
Those Foreign Diacritical Marks
(Accents)
Computer Support Services, University of Florida
This Web page cites examples illustrating how important proper diacritical
marks can be to meaning.
ellipses
Ellipses
Professor Paul Brians, Washington State University
This site offers a brief guide to using ellipses and includes tips on how to
handle ellipses when transferring electronic documents or using HTML
script.
Periods and
Ellipses
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features rules for the use of periods and ellipses taken from Jane
Straus's grammar reference guide and
handbook.
exclamation marks
The Exclamation
Mark
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
presents a succinct guide to exclamation mark
usage.
hyphens
Hyphens
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features the hyphens section of Jane Straus's grammar reference
guide and handbook, including a practice exercise and test.
Using
Hyphens
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers a concise review of hyphen
usage.
indentation
HTML Reference Guide: How Do I Indent
Text?
Webspawner.com
This page of an HTML reference guide describes how to indent
text.
Indents
Academic Computing and Communications Center, University of Illinois at
Chicago
This online handout covers how to use the indent function in Microsoft Word®
2000.
Microsoft Word 2000—Indenting
Text
Beginners.co.uk
This site features an online tutorial giving instructions and tips for using
the indent function in Microsoft Word 2000.
WordPerfect 7: Changing the Margins, Alignment
and Spacing of Text Using Shortcut Keys
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This site features step-by-step directions for using selected functions in
WordPerfect® 7.
italics
Italics
The Department of Communication, York University
This site, part of the York University online style guide, offers a review of
italics usage.
Italics/Underlining and Quotation
Marks
On-Line Writing Lab, Utah Valley State College
This Web page offers two brief exercises testing the user's knowledge of the
proper use of italics and quotation marks.
Using Italics and
Underlining
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers usage guidelines for italics and underlining with
examples.
numbers
Using Numbers, Writing
Lists
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers advice on how to write numbers in standard academic
prose.
Writing Numbers
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers concise direction on how to handle numbers in written
language.
parentheses
Parentheses
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers brief usage guidelines for parentheses.
Parentheses
The School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences, The University of Sussex
This Web page, compiled by Larry Trask, offers a review of rules for
parentheses usage including examples.
Parentheses
English Plus+
This Web page offers a brief explanation of parentheses
usage.
periods
The Period
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers usage guidelines for the period.
Periods and
Ellipses
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features the periods and ellipses section of Jane Straus's grammar
reference guide and handbook, providing definitions and
examples.
proofreaders' marks
Common Proofreading
Symbols
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
features a table showing common proofreading marks.
Proofreading
University Publications, University of Oregon
This online grammar and style guide features examples of proofreaders' marks
and their explanations.
Proofreading
American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA),
Soil Science Society of America (SSSA)
This downloadable chapter from the ASA-CSSA-SSSA's Publications Handbook
and Style Manualcovers proofreading.
proofreading
Grammar and Style:
Proofreading
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online grammar and style manual features tips on
proofreading.
Proofreading
The Department of English, University of Victoria
This page of an online writer's guide reviews
proofreading.
Proofreading and Editing
Tips
LR Communication Systems, Inc.
This Web site features a compilation of advice from experienced proofreaders
and editors.
Proofreading
Strategies
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This site offers detailed strategies for proofreading geared toward student
writers.
punctuation
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This easy-to-navigate Web site is the online version of Jane Straus's guide
to grammar and punctuation.
Exercise Central
Bedford/St. Martin's
The largest collection of editing exercises available online, Exercise
Central provides practice for mastering the skills of editing grammar, style,
punctuation, and mechanics.
Punctuation
HyperGrammar
Produced by the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa and written by
Frances Peck, this site offers links to sections on various punctuation marks
and their usage.
Punctuation Made Simple
College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Florida
This site features professor Gary Olson's discussion of various punctuation
marks, designed to encourage readers to develop a feel for correct usage rather
than a reliance on rules.
Punctuation Marks
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
is the lead-in page to the guide's coverage of
punctuation.
question marks
The Question
Mark
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews question mark usage.
Question Marks
English Plus+
This Web page offers examples of correct question mark usage.
Question
Marks
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features a review of two rules for question mark usage taken from
Jane Straus's online grammar reference guide and
handbook.
semicolons
Colons/Semicolons
Department of English, Washington State University
Professor Paul Brians's online guide Common Errors in Englishincludes
this page on colon and semicolon usage.
Grammar and Style:
Semicolons
Writing Center, The University of Wisconsin-Madison
This page of an online writer's handbook reviews semicolon
usage.
The Semicolon
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers guidelines on using semicolons.
Semicolons
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This site features the semicolon section of Jane Straus's grammar reference
guide and handbook, including a practice exercise and test.
Using Semicolons
VirtualSalt.com
This site features writer and educator Robert Harris's article on the finer
points of semicolon usage.
slashes
The Slash or Virgule
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
reviews the slash, or virgule, and how to use it.
spelling
Complete List of Spelling Rules for Nouns and
Verbs
Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL, Georgia State University
This site features a list of spelling rules for irregular nouns, irregular
plural formation of nouns, and irregular spelling of verb inflections, all
compiled by Susan Jones.
Some Rules and Suggestions About
Spelling
Guide to Grammar and Writing
Hosted by Professor Charles Darling and Capital Community College, this site
offers tips on correcting spelling mistakes as well as several interactive
quizzes on spelling.
Spelling
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
This link takes the user to the spelling section of the index page to OWL's
online handouts.
symbols
Symbols.com
HME Media
This Web site contains more than 2,500 Western signs, arranged into groups
according to their graphic characteristics, as well as articles on their
histories, uses, and meanings.
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