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Research and Reference

Need help citing Internet resources? We have an entire page devoted to citing electronic sources in various formats.

Click on any of the links below to navigate this page.

Dictionaries, Style Manuals, Grammar Handbooks, Editing Resources
Online References
Indexes for Writers
Libraries Online
Online Books and E-Texts
Newspapers, Journals and Magazines

Dictionaries, Style Manuals, Grammar Handbooks, Editing Resources

• Dictionary.com allows you to search multiple dictionaries and references at the same time.
• Dictionary.net returns word, and phrase definitions from a variety of English dictionary resources
• iTools has links to a number of dictionaries, thesauruses, and other language tools, including online translators.
• Merriam Webster Dictionary
• LookWAYup Dictionary/Thesaurus and Translation is a large online English dictionary that tolerates small spelling errors (U.S. or international spelling), shows definitions for multiple senses of the word, and for each sense shows synonyms, related terms, and usage examples. It will also translate words to French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, or German or vice-versa.
• Online Dictionaries
• A list of biograpical info at Biographical Dictionary
• Roget's Thesaurus
• The Visual Thesaurus offers a visual way of exploring the relationships between words.
• Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
• Glossary Agent is a growing, focused compilation of links to online monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual glossaries in insurance and related fields such as law and finance. Current topics include, among others, environmental protection, finance, healthcare, information technology, insurance, law, medicine, transportation, and weather. The site is useful to anyone who needs to know the meaning of technical terms in a wide variety of disciplines.
• William Strunk's original version of the Elements of Style (later made famous by E. B. White) is available courtesy of the Bartleby project.
• Robert Harris has a searchable rhetorical devices handbook and a glossary of literary terms.
• WebGrammar is a site devoted to grammar.
• Plagued by a grammar question for which you can't find an answer? Try one of the grammar hotlines listed in the Grammar Hotline Directory. Services are listed by state and include phone and e-mail information.
• The Apostrophe Protection Society is a good-natured site that promotes proper use of the apostrophe.
• The Editorial Department offers some online help with self-editing.
• If you're interested in copy editing, check out Mindy McAdams's syllabus for a course she taught in copy editing. It includes useful information on the field as well as pointers to further reading. For more links on copy editing, take a look at the Copy Editor newsletter.
• For fun, test your knowledge of Editorial Esoterica, brought to you by Andrea Sutcliffe and Editorial Eye
• Paul Brian's Common Errors in English Site has an extraordinarily comprehensive list of errors in English usage and advice for how to avoid them.
• Garbl's Grammar Grappler will answer your questions about grammar.
• Garbl's Style and Usage Links offers links to online style guides and manuals managed by various organizations, businesses, publications and universities.
• Garbl's Editorial Style Manual is a comprehensive style guide based on the Associated Press Stylebook and other excellent reference books.
• iScribe has a site devoted to grammar basics and definitions of grammatical terms.
• The Writer's Block is full of links to resources for writing, grammar, style guides, research, and reference.
• Word Surfing offers vocabulary learning strategies for students of all ages.

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Online References

• AllLearn Academic Directories offers a collection of academic websites in various fields that have been catalogued and reviewed by scholars from Oxford, Stanford, and Yale Universities.
• AllRefer offers enclopedia entries and references for a variety of fields.
• Encyclopedia Britannica Online
• Infoplease has a complete encyclopedia, dictionary, and almanacs for research as well as information organized by subject matter.
• Libraryspot.com is likely the most comprehensive site you'll find on the Web for links to libraries across the world.
• KnowPlay has lots of searches for various reference materials, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books.
• The University of Victoria's Writer's Guide offers a hypertextual set of information relating to writing. This site could be of special interest to writers in first-year composition.
• The DeVry Online Writing Support Center offers a variety of links to writing-related resources. Teachers of writing might find this site especially useful.
• Writing at the University of Toronto offers over 50 "homemade" files concerning writing and links to writer resources for various fields including engineering.
• Ask Oxford is a very comprehensive site produced by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary that has answers to questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage and access to searchable dictionaries.
• Writer's Free Reference is an extensive list of free information on the Internet that could be useful to writers (or anyone else doing research online).
• Wikipedia is a collaborative project that is attempting to produce a free and complete encyclopedia in every language.
• Need help citing Internet resources? We have an entire page devoted to citing electronic sources in various formats.

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Indexes for Writers

• Ask Oxford is a very comprehensive site produced by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary that has lots of information about writing.
• Electric Eclectic: a very comprehensive index. You have to see it to believe it.
• Noodle Tools has online tools to help with searching the Internet, creating a bibliography in MLA format, helpful links, and a bulletin board for discussion.
• Another source for all kinds of writing activities is John Hewitt's Writing Resource Center.
• The Free Online Writing Resource Links Database hosts thousands of writing resource links in a massive online database, including 40+ genres, funds for writers, job listings, education, news, submission calls,and a research library. They also publish Newswatch, FREEdom Inkwell Newsletters and Writers Site News.
• Garbl's Writing Resources Online is a collection of sites on the English Language, grammar, style, and references.
• The University of Kentucky has a searchable rhetorical devices handbook and a handbook of literary terms.
• Ruth Vilmi's Writing Help
• Edurest has links to a variety of writing resources.
• Writer's Free Reference is an extensive list of free information on the Internet that could be useful to writers (or anyone else doing research online).
• Writing World offers more than 250 articles on just about every aspect of writing (fiction, nonfiction, freelancing, greeting cards, international, etc.), plus over 500 links to other resources,market information, contest listings, and more.
• Zuzu's Petals Literary Resource offers over 7000 organized links to all sorts of literary and artistic sites.

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Libraries Online

• American Library Association
• Internet Public Library
• Library of Congress
• Libraryspot.com a comprehensive portal to libraries around the world
• Libweb
• Carlweb a keyword index to thousands of periodicals; abstracts are free, articles available by interlibrary loan or for a fee
• Purdue's Libraries

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Online Books and E-Texts

• The On-Line Book Page
• Project Bartleby
• Project Gutenberg

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Newspapers, News Services, Journals and Magazines Online

• List of online journals
• Chronicle of Higher Education
• Electronic Newsstand
• New York Times
• USA Today
• Wall Street Journal
• Electronic Journals
• Pathfinder (Time Warner publications)
• Reuters News Media
• EcolaNewsstand

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