All Sites

» 11 Rules of Writing

Concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar.

http://www.junketstudies.com/rulesofw/

» 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

» 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/

» CBC News: Words, Woe & Wonder

An in-depth look at the words we use from CBC News.

http://cbc.ca/news/indepth/words/

» Cliche

List of 2000 English cliches with some statistical and literary notes on their use.

http://www.angelfire.com/nd/danscorpio/word3.html

» Cliche Finder

Special tool word-searches 3,300 cliches.

http://www.westegg.com/cliche/

» Common Errors in English

Catalogue of writing or speaking mistakes and easily confusable words, with corrections.

http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/

» English Guides

A guide to English grammar. Also links to punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, and writing guides.

http://sites.google.com/site/englishgrammarguide/

» Exploring English

An online tutorial for the parts of speech with style notes for the English Language.

http://www.shared-visions.com/explore/english/

» Findaphrase.com

Free phrase database to help journalists, copywriters and content editors search common phrases.

http://www.findaphrase.com/

» Focusing on Words

Subscription-based site for vocabulary development, showcasing the Latin and Greek roots of English words.

http://www.wordfocus.com/

» Frequently Asked Questions about English

Answers to common questions about usage, style, grammar and punctuation.

http://www.alexcommunications.com/faq.htm

» 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/

» Glossarist.com

A searchable directory of thousands of glossaries and topical dictionaries containing terms and definitions on hundreds of subjects.

http://www.glossarist.com/

» 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

» Grammar Slammer

This help file indexes style and usage, capitalization, abbreviations, punctuation, letter writing, common mistakes and a grammar glossary.

http://englishplus.com/grammar/

» Guardian.co.uk - Style Guide

Guide to word usage, grammar and punctuation for The Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk publications. UK.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide

» 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/

» 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/

» 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

» 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/

» 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/

» Linguistic Phenomena/Devices

A list of lesser-known features in English writing. Hendiadys, holonyms, and hypernyms.

http://www.site.uottawa.ca/~szpak/ling-devices.html

» 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/

» 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/

» 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/

» Online Classes in Rhetoric, University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota offers a number of Internet correspondence courses in rhetoric. Sign up here.

http://www.rhetoric.umn.edu/

» 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.pataphor.com/

» 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/

» Plain English Campaign

An independent group fighting for plain English in public communication. We oppose gobbledygook, jargon and legalese.

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

» 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/

» Pseudo Dictionary

The dictionary for words that wouldn't make it into dictionaries.

http://www.pseudodictionary.com/

» Ralph's Manual of Style

A guide to style, grammar, usage, and more by a guy named Ralph.

http://www.rms.hung-sun.com/

» Slang City

Writing about American slang.

http://www.slangcity.com/

» 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/soyouwanna-avoid-common-writing-errors-1591.html

» Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature

Bimonthly publication, SPELL/Binder, contains articles on grammar, usage, word origins, and other subjects of interest to language lovers.

http://www.spellorg.com/

» Suite101: English Grammar

Archive of articles about English grammar and style.

http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/english_grammar_style

» Suite101: Word Play

Archived discussions and articles concerning words.

http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/words

» 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/

» The Economist Style Guide

Guide based on the style book given to all journalists at The Economist.

http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/

» The Philosophy of Punctuation

Paul Robinson's classic essay on periods, commas, semicolons, dashes.

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/721833.html

» The Sports Cliche List

A large, searchable collection of sports cliches, lingo, and jargon.

http://www.sportscliche.com/

» The Tongue Untied

Grammar, punctuation and style for journalists.

http://grammar.uoregon.edu/

» 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

» The Well Bred Sentence

Online book offering an intensive course in sentence construction and punctuation.

http://www.englishgrammartutor.com/grammar%20book.htm

» The Word Centre

Consulting firm dedicated to training businesses to use plain English. Free newsletter and professional editing services.

http://www.wordcentre.co.uk/

» 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/

» The Word Nerds

A weekly podcast about words, language, and why we say the things we do.

http://thewordnerds.libsyn.com/

» Tribe: Linguistics

Group for discussions of words and language.

http://linguistica.tribe.net/

» Tribe: Word Freaks

Group for people who love discussing words and writing style.

http://wordfreaks.tribe.net/

» 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/

» Urban Dictionary

A veritable cornucopia of streetwise lingo, posted and defined by its readers.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

» Verbivore

Richard Lederer's page, with contact information and a handful of his language-loving articles.

http://www.verbivore.com/

» Web Typography

The elements of typographic style applied to the web.

http://webtypography.net/

» Word Files of Confusing English Words

A presentation of English words that are often confusing with definitions and context examples.

http://www.wordfiles.info/

» 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

» Word Lab

A message board where you can request and brainstorm words, names, titles, coinages, puns, phrases, slogans and slang.

http://www.wordlab.com/

» 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/

» Word Quests

Word lists that provide thematic units of English words derived from Latin and Greek sources.

http://www.wordquests.info/

» 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/

» Word Spy

The word lover's web site by Paul McFedries.

http://www.wordspy.com/

» 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/

» 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

» 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/

» 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/

» WritingDEN

Interactive site created to help students improve English reading, writing and listening skills.

http://204.244.141.13/writ_den/

» 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/