AskOxford.com
For questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage. Search a dictionary of words, names or quotations.
http://www.askoxford.com/
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A.Word.ADay
The music and magic of words. This is the website for the mailing list A.Word.A.Day (AWAD), which sends a vocabulary word and its definition to the subscribers every day.
http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html
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Bartleby.com: Strunk's Element of Style (1918)
For use in English courses in which the practice of composition is combined with the study of literature. It aims to give in brief space the principal requirements of plain English style.
http://www.bartleby.com/141/
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The Book of Cliches
A compilation of common phrases, euphemisms, and rationales for times of trouble. Organized by occasion.
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/sybev/cliche/
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Braintique: The Natural Way to Write
A process and system for helping people become better writers. Includes exercises, examples, and information about descriptive writing and metaphors.
http://www.braintique.com/barticles/writing/what/TOC.shtml
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Cliche
List of 2000 English cliches with some statistical and literary notes on their use.
http://www.angelfire.com/nd/danscorpio/word3.html
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Cliche Finder
Special tool word-searches 3,300 cliches.
http://www.westegg.com/cliche/
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Cliche Site
Clichés, sayings or phrases listed with definitions and explanations. Clichés are organized by subject and alphabetically and you can use the search function.
http://www.clichesite.com/index.asp
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Cliche Web
Thousands of cliches. Fully searchable and interactive. Formerly Steve's Cliche List. Since 1995.
http://www.cambiaresearch.com/clicheweb/
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Common Errors in English
Catalogue of writing or speaking mistakes and easily confusable words, with corrections.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
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Correct Punctuation
A brief guide to correct English punctuation.
http://www.correctpunctuation.co.uk
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Dr. NAD's Prig Page.
Tests of usage, built interactively.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5229/p_.htm
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Economist Style Guide
Based on the guide given to all journalists at The Economist. Includes quiz.
http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/
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The Economist Style Guide
Guide based on the style book given to all journalists at The Economist.
http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/
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E-dition: Dictionary of Concise Writing
A look at word usage in popular culture. The Dictionary of Concision is a complete manual of several thousand wordy phrases.
http://www.e-dition.net/dictionary.html
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Ewriting
Easy to learn electronic writing style that will speed up email and online chatroom discussions.
http://www.e-writing.info
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Exploring English
An online tutorial for the parts of speech with style notes for the English Language.
http://www.shared-visions.com/explore/english/
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Findaphrase.com
Free phrase database to help journalists, copywriters and content editors search common phrases.
http://www.findaphrase.com/
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Focusing on Words
Subscription-based site for vocabulary development, showcasing the Latin and Greek roots of English words.
http://www.wordfocus.com/
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Garbl's Editorial Style Manual
Provides advice on abbreviations, capitalization, grammar, numbers, plurals, possessives, punctuation, spelling and word usage.
http://garbl.home.comcast.net/stylemanual/
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Glossarist.com
A searchable directory of thousands of glossaries and topical dictionaries containing terms and definitions on hundreds of subjects.
http://www.glossarist.com/
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Good Grammar, Good Style
Articles and answers to frequently asked questions about grammar, mechanics, and style. Links and bibliography.
http://www.protrainco.com/info/grammar.htm
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Grammar Slammer
This help file indexes style and usage, capitalization, abbreviations, punctuation, letter writing, common mistakes and a grammar glossary.
http://englishplus.com/grammar/index.htm
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Guardian Unlimited - Style Guide
The British newspaper's guide to word usage, grammar and punctuation, edited by David Marsh and Nikki Marshall. Includes 1928 edition in pdf format.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide
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Guide to Grammar and Style
The information ranges from copy editing to elements of style to discussions. Practical information about the writing craft.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
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Guide to Grammar and Writing
Digital handouts on grammar and English usage. From subject-verb agreement and use of articles to exercises in parallel structures and argumentative essays. You can submit questions about grammar and writing.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
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Guides for Better Science Writing
Bibliography of style manuals for scientific research, writing, and presentation. Guides for biology, medicine, chemistry, engineering, geology, and mathematics.
http://www.indiana.edu/~cheminfo/14-05.html
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How to Write an Explication
Step-by-step directions to writing an explication. Good and bad examples provided.
http://www.geocities.com/lrampey/2131/explicate.htm
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Illiterate Businesses
An unabashed rant weblog featuring English-language business signs with grammatical, spelling and/or punctuation errors. Includes a free sign editing offer.
http://www.illiteratebusinesses.ca
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Lingo Factory
A cooperative effort to coin useable terms and then trick people into using them regularly as though they are real words.
http://lingofactory.tribe.net/
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LousyWriter.com
A free online resource to improve your writing skills. Learn how to write, how to use words, how to write sentences, and how to communicate effectively.
http://www.lousywriter.com/
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Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association is the official guide to non-fiction writing. Includes a guide to MLA style.
http://www.mla.org
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NoodleBib - The MLA Bibliography Composer
A free tool to create, edit, and save your MLA-style bibliography online, then publish it to a Web page, email it, or save it as RTF and open it in Microsoft Word.
http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/
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Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
Help in discovering, organizing, revising, and editing informal, thesis, argumentative, and exploratory essays.
http://www.powa.org/
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Pataphysics, Pataphors and Pataphorology
An extended metaphor that creates its own context. A science invented by P.A. Lopez and derived from the science of 'pataphysics as described by Alfred Jarry.
http://www.geocities.com/pataphysician1/
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The Philosophy of Punctuation
Paul Robinson's classic essay on periods, commas, semicolons, dashes.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/721833.html
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Phrases Thesaurus
A generator of headlines and copy for journalists. Enter a word and the database is searched to provide a list of phrases related to that word.
http://www.phrasefinder.co.uk
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Plain English at Work
Online guide to using plain English and changing the corporate style. Produced for Australia's Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs and the Australian National Training Authority.
http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/training_skills/publications_resources/plain_english_at_work/
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Plain English Campaign
An independent group fighting for plain English in public communication. We oppose gobbledygook, jargon and legalese.
http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/
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Plain Language Action Network
Promoting clearer communication between the public and government. This site has resources for writers to attain that goal.
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/
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Pseudo Dictionary
The dictionary for words that wouldn't make it into dictionaries.
http://www.pseudodictionary.com/index.php
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Ralph's Manual of Style
A guide to style, grammar, usage, and more by a guy named Ralph.
http://www.rms.hung-sun.com/
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Rhetorical Figures
From alliteration to zeugma, and everything in between, all the figures of speech are here.
http://www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/rhetoric.html
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11 Rules of Writing
Concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar.
http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/
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SecretariesUSA.com
Reference for the home and corporate office, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, sentence structure, forms of address, abbreviations, letter styles, and business forms.
http://secretariesusa.com/
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Slang City
Writing about American slang.
http://www.slangcity.com
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SoYouWanna Avoid Common Writing Errors
We compiled a list of the most common writing errors people tend to make. This is not a primer on grammar or essay-writing. This is a checklist of things which you might well do and which you must stop doing.
http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/wrerrors/wrerrors.html
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The Sports Cliche List
A large, searchable collection of sports cliches, lingo, and jargon.
http://www.sportscliche.com
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Suite 101: Workplace Communications
Archive of articles covering writing and speaking skills, with emphasis on clear communication, basic design, communicating with international and multicultural audiences.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/communications_skills
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Suite101: English Grammar
Archive of articles about English grammar and style.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/english_grammar_style
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Suite101: Word Play
Archived discussions and articles concerning words.
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/words
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The Tongue Untied
Grammar, punctuation and style for journalists.
http://grammar.uoregon.edu/
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Tribe: Linguistics
Group for discussions of words and language.
http://linguistica.tribe.net/
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Tribe: Word Freaks
Group for people who love discussing words and writing style.
http://wordfreaks.tribe.net/
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Tribe: Words of Power
For people who love words, use them, feel them in their mouths as flavorful bursts of energy. This is the tribe for fun with words and receptive learning.
http://powerwords.tribe.net/
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Urban Dictionary
A veritable cornucopia of streetwise lingo, posted and defined by its readers.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/
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Verbivore
Richard Lederer's page, with contact information and a handful of his language-loving articles.
http://www.verbivore.com/
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The Visual Thesaurus
An exploration of sense relationships within the English language. By clicking on words, you follow a thread of meaning, creating a spatial map of linguistic associations.
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/online/index.html
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Web Typography
The elements of typographic style applied to the web.
http://webtypography.net/
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The Well Bred Sentence
This book offers an intensive course in sentence construction and punctuation.
http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/Grammar%20Book.htm
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The Word Centre
Consulting firm dedicated to training businesses to use plain English. Free newsletter and professional editing services.
http://www.wordcentre.co.uk
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The Word Detective
The online version of the newspaper column answering readers' questions about words and language. An extensive column and word archive. Written by Evan Morris.
http://www.word-detective.com/
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Word Fugitives
An interactive column by The Atlantic's Barbara Wallraff. Discovers needs in our language and recommends new words to fill them.
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/fugitives/index.htm
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Word Info
An English vocabulary dictionary with free searches of words from Latin and Greek sources.
http://www.wordinfo.info
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Word Lab
A message board where you can request and brainstorm words, names, titles, coinages, puns, phrases, slogans and slang.
http://www.wordlab.com/
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The Word Nerds
A weekly podcast about words, language, and why we say the things we do.
http://thewordnerds.libsyn.com/
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Word News
Efforts have been made to provide some of the best thoughts, ancient and modern, that are particularly appealing for our time and to promote a greater appreciation for the English language.
http://www.wordnews.info
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Word Quests
Word lists that provide thematic units of English words derived from Latin and Greek sources.
http://www.wordquests.info
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Word Rogues
Tips on writing, English, and grammar. This site also includes active community college English syllabii and links to other writing, grammar sites.
http://www.lanzbom.org
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Word Spy
The word lover's web site by Paul McFedries.
http://www.wordspy.com/
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Wordelizer
Delve deeply into a word or subject. Quick search of several word and language related sites.
http://www.emse.fr/~yukna/kahula/wordelizer/wordelizer.html
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Wordiness
A list of words and phrases to purge from your writing.
http://web.uvic.ca/~gkblank/wordiness.html
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WordWizard
Portal for word lovers. Learn about word meanings, slang, quotations, insults, and famous authors. Wordwizard offers a round trip across the English language.
http://www.wordwizard.com/
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World Wide Words
Explores the history, evolution byways, quirks, and curiosities of the English language. New and recent words and phrases are often featured, as are books on aspects of English. A weekly newsletter is sent by e-mail and RSS.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/
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Writer's Dreamtools
A series of useful tools to enhance writers' and students' creativity, spark ideas and fight writer's block.
http://www.writersdreamtools.com/
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Writing For Multimedia
Michael Butzgy's style guide for multimedia.
http://home.earthlink.net/~atomic_rom/contents.htm
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WritingDEN
Interactive site created to help students improve English reading, writing and listening skills.
http://204.244.141.13/writ_den/
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Yale Style Manual
For the design of Web pages and Web sites. Covers graphic and information design, page layout, Web graphics, site organization, navigation, and Web multimedia content.
http://www.webstyleguide.com/
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