Writing Guides

The best: Resources for Non-Purdue College Level Instructors and Students from Purdue University's Award-winning Online Writing Lab (OWL), the world's first Online Writing Lab (1994). Highly recommended.
Includes free online handouts on:

The Writing Center, part of the Academic Services Center, is a writing support service staffed by specially trained student tutors. The tutors are selected by the English Dept. for their writing ability and their interest in helping other students with writing assignments. The Writing Center is directed by Dr. Rita Malenczyk. Contact malenczykr@easternct.edu or 465-4573. The Writing Center also has a direct phone line at 465-0382. To register for an appointment at the Writing Center, go here.

Writing Center tutors.

Writing Across the Curriculum at ECSU: A Brief Guide for Students
 

Acronym Finder "Look up 122,500 acronyms/abbreviations & their meanings. A searchable database containing common acronyms and abbreviations about all subjects, with a focus on computers, technology, telecommunications, and the military."

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations At a loss for words? Use someone else's (but attribute them, of course!) Search for a word and get all the quotes which contain your word. Also, click on a person's name to see all the quotes attributed to them.

Common Errors in English from Paul Brians, Emeritus Professor of English, Washington State University. Highly recommended.

Dictionary.com "This highly useful commercial site distinguishes itself from other online reference sources in several ways. First, when users type in a word seeking its definition, the site returns several definitions from different, reputable dictionaries (including, sometimes, foreign language ones), allowing users to compare meanings. Second, the site features a Q/A page where visitors can ask "Dr. Dictionary" questions relating to words and grammar. (Individuals seeking to refresh their memory on the rule of "'I' before 'e' except after 'c,'" or wanting to know the difference between "its" and "it's" will find help here.) Third, and most strikingly, the site features a translation page that will translate anything from a phrase to an entire Webpage from one major European language, including English, to another. There are word games, online foreign dictionaries, and links to writing resources here as well." The Scout Report for Social Sciences. Highly recommended.

Dictionary.com Reverse Dictionary The reverse dictionary lets you go from a concept/idea/definition to words and phrases used to describe that concept. You can enter a single word, phrase, or a few words and hit the "Reverse Search" button. Example: a search for "candy stick" returns "cane".

Elements of Style The classic by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. Electronically published by the Bartelby Project, it includes sections on Elementary Rules of Usage, Elementary Rules of Composition, A Few Matters of Form, Words and Expressions Commonly Misused, and Words Commonly Misspelled.

Eliminating Generic-Male Language: Political Statement or Just Good Writing? by Jennifer Griffith, Roane State Community College.

FOLDOC: Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing Enter a word or phrase in the box at the top of any page and click the Search button or hit Enter.

Guide to Grammar and Style from Jack Lynch, Newark campus of Rutgers University. Highly recommended.

Guide to Grammar and Writing An award-winning guide from Capital Community-Technical College. Highly recommended.

The Heteronym Homepage "Heteronyms are words that are spelled identically but have different meanings when pronounced differently. For example: Lead, pronounced LEED, means to guide. However, lead, pronounced LED, means a metallic element."

The King's English, 2nd ed. by H. W. Fowler, published through Bartleby.com: Great Books Online. This is the classic grammar text originally published in 1908.

Merriam-Webster OnLine provides a free, searchable online dictionary and thesaurus, word games, a word of the day, and many other English language and vocabulary reference tools and resources.

Non-Sexist Language Some Notes on Gender-Neutral Language from Carolyn Jacobson, English Department, University of Pennsylvania.

The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: "a practical, award-winning online writing guide for college students" from Professor Michael Harvey, Department of Business Management, Washington College. Highly recommended.

The Quotations Page Read a quote of the day or week, discover a random quote, or search for a quote (select from 12 databases of quotations). The default is the site's own collection, maintained by Michael and Laura Moncur, but you can also search a quotation newsgroup, a collection of humorist Dave Barry's columns, or a database of quotations by women.

Research Tools from iTools Gathered all on one web page are dictionaries, a thesaurus, translation and other language search tools, and library search tools for people and quotations; geographical search tools for maps and telephone numbers; and various financial, shipping and internet search tools. Highly recommended.


Thesaurus.com To use the thesaurus, simply type a word in the gold search box and click the 'Search' button. A list of synonyms and antonyms will be returned.

The Wordsmyth English Dictionary-Thesaurus, developed by Robert Parks, Ph.D., and the ARTFL Project at the University of Chicago. A unique, integrated English dictionary and thesaurus. Highly recommended.

Last update: November 4, 2009.