Style and Writing Guides

Resources for proper grammatical usage, citation formats, or paper writing.

Sub-headings:

APA

Guidelines and rules for proper grammatical usage, citation formats, or paper writing from the APA (American Psychological Association). APA style is often used in social science works.

Chicago Manual of Style/Turabian

Guidelines and rules on proper grammatical usage, citation formats, or paper writing from either the Chicago Manual of Style or Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed., 1996. Turabian style is based off the Chicago Manual of Style but is intended more for scholarly and scholastic writing done by students.

Citations

Tools and resources that have to do with creating citations.

MLA

Guidelines and rules for proper grammatical usage, citation formats, or paper writing from the MLA (Modern Language Association). MLA style is often used in works on the liberal arts and humanities.

Resources in this category:

A+ Research & Writing
http://www.ipl.org/div/aplus/

Need to write a research paper? Want to do an A+ job without going totally NUTS? Here's help! A+ Research & Writing for high school and college students was created by Kathryn L. Schwartz.

Armchair Grammarian
http://community-2.webtv.net/@HH!F9!71!91A4C51D649F/solis-bo...

If you are looking for an Online Writing Lab then this website is a great place to start. Find articles that explain, with examples, English grammar and punctuation rules.

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
http://www.grammarbook.com/

Practice your grammar with this easy-to-use site that has both lessons and quizzes to learn with. Stop by the blog to learn more or discuss your language issues. Some quizzes may only be accessed by paying subscribers.

Common Errors in English
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/

This is a very comprehensive site, that does a very good job of exhaustively covering errors in English. Paul Brians, a professor of English at the Washington State University, maintains this site. The main thrust of this site is covering the most common errors in English usage.

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma
http://www.dartcenter.org/

"The Dart Center is a global network of journalists, journalism educators, and health professionals dedicated to improving media coverage of trauma, conflict, and tragedy." Provides journalists resources for dealing with trauma, both professionally and personally, and information about trauma research.

The Economist Style Guide
http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/

This is a very helpful resource, since it covers such areas of grammar and writing including: Metaphors, short words, unnecessary words, jargon and syntax. Each section covered provides a detailed article with some examples, with a focus upon British English.

English Grammar FAQ
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/aue.html

This site is a compilation of the Questions and answers that a Linguistics professor posted to alt.usage.english over the past few years. John Lawler is an Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. This is a great resource for those who enjoy reading newsgroup postings, and are wanting to learn more about grammar and its proper usage.

EzineUniversity
http://www.ezineuniversity.com/

"EzineUniversity exists to help you become a successful E-Zine Publisher. Several leading online experts share their expertise with you in this educational forum." Available free online courses include: E-Zines and E-mail Marketing, Preparation and Research, Planning and Development, Content Development and Writing, and Publishing and Mailing List Management.

Gender Fair Language
http://www.ccp.rpi.edu/genderfair.html

As culture changes, so does language. Reflect our changing ideas in your writing with gender fair language! This site provides an overview of the concept, as well as helpful examples for making your writing clear and direct regarding gender.

Guide to Grammar and Style
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/

Improve your grammar and writing style! This site provides helpful articles, explanations and suggestions for your writing.

Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

There's a lot more than grammar help at this site. Learn how to write effective paragraphs and essays in addition to finding out about all things grammatical. You can even submit a question about English grammar or usage. Lots of resources available, too, including an online dictionary and famous quotations about writing.

How to Write a Term Paper
http://www.gale.cengage.com/free_resources/term_paper/index....

This is a very good resource for those needing some help writing a term paper. This site goes through the various stages involved in writing an effective term paper, such as: choosing a topic, evaluating thesis and sources, and how to begin and organize a research paper. There are articles that describe the stages involved in writing a research paper, as well as examples to illustrate the points being made.

Inkwell Editorial Proofreading and Editing Symbols
http://www.inkwelleditorial.com/proofreaders_marks.htm

This page lists the standard proofreading and editing marks and abbreviations. This is a very good resource to learn what those marks are on your paper after a proofreader looks over it and marks it up.

Proofreader's Marks
http://www.aecom.yu.edu/home/einsteinquarterly/Resources/Pro...

Ever wonder how to decipher the marks used on edited text? Here's a explanation of the standard proofreader's marks authors and editors might use to indicate changes in copy.

Tameri Guide for Writers
http://www.tameri.com/

This site provides a wealth of information on writing, editing, formatting, designing and marketing. The focus is on providing writing resources for the dramatic, literary and academic writer. A unique feature of this site is the Writers' Lexicon, providing detailed definitions of terms that are highly applicable to the trade.

UW-Madison's Writing Center Writer's Handbook
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/

Includes instructional materials used in the Writing Center. Sections include Stages of the Writing Process (Drafting, Revising, and Proofreading), Common Types of Writing Assignments (Applications, Research Papers, Reviews, etc.), Grammar and Punctuation, Improving Your Writing Style, and Documentation Styles (APA, MLA, Turabian, etc.).

Writers Workshop - The Center for Writing Studies
http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/

Writing resources from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Individual free help is only offered to University affiliates but the Writer Resources section has great information in their Grammar Handbook, Citation styles, ESL Resources, and Writing Tips section.

Writing Business Letters
http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48446

This IPL pathfinder is provides resources on guidelines to writing a business-related letter. This may include letters written at the workplace and personal letters written to business people such as a letter to the landlord. Both print resources and Internet are included.

Writing Guides at CSU
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/

Are you looking for a well organized and easy to navigate website that will help you with the writing process? The Writing Center at Colorado State University provides over 70 writing guides as online textbooks in six areas: writing processes and rhetorical concerns, types of documents, desktop publishing and writing for the Web, working with sources, graphics, critical reading, informative speeches and presentation, and research.