An Ongoing Project . . .

Links to Internet sites with information for students and writers, organized under subheadings – with ratings and descriptions of their contents.

Ratings are given for Contents and Ease of Use (ease with which site can be navigated) on a scale of 5 (excellent), 4 (good), and 3 (fair).  We do not include sites that do not earn a rating of at least "3" in both areas.

NOTE:  The last category (Online Grammar Exercises) consists of some online sites that offer grammar exercises.  Some are interactive.  This means that you may enter answers (various methods are used) and be told immediately or upon the completion of the exercise whether your answer is correct.  Others require that you do the exercise and then compare your answers to an answer key.  Some sites offer only exercises; others present some lessons and give exercises at the end.  You may need to experiment a little to learn how a given site functions.  I have not rated these sites because their value depends on users' needs.

Grammar Help Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips on Writing Grammar Girl gives tips on grammar and usage with a fresh and invigorating style.  She works primarily via podcasts (about which The Mudge is totally ignorant), but this site is an entree.  You can take it from there.  From what I've seen, it's highly worthwhile. Content:  5;  Ease of Use: To be determined. University of Colorado Writing Center Offers some useful handouts on subjects ranging from MLA style to paragraph development to writing an effective thesis, with links to other resources.  Designed primarily for students at the U. of Colorado but useful to others as well.  Content: 3.5; Ease of Use: 4 O.W.L. (Online Writing Lab) (Updated 8/10/10)  O.W.L., the Online Writing Lab, has considerable information on grammar, including many useful handouts.  This link is to the entry page.  Unfortunately, the redesigned O.W.L. is not as user-friendly as the old version.  You may need to "click around" to find specific information (or you can try the search, which links to a Google-type listing) .   Another possibility is to work from the extremely detailed Site Map.  We've also seen some indications that O.W.L. has become lax in its standards. Content: 4; Ease of Use: 2.0  O.W.L. Resources This page has links to help on a variety of topics on the Online Writing Lab. Content: 5; Ease of Use: 4 Grammar Monster Lessons and self-tests on basic punctuation and parts of speech (rather simple but useful), with a section common errors and confused words.  Content:  4.0; Ease of Use: 4.5 Grammarbook A somewhat limited resource for grammar rules, but it does have a fairly good section on confused words.  Check out the video features.  Interactive self-tests require a paid subscription.  Content: 3.5; Ease of Use 3.5 Grammar Handbooks LB Brief Handbook This is the online companion to LB Brief, a fairly popular and concise handbook.  It is no substitute for the printed text but does present most of the fundamentals, with links to supplementary material. Content: 4.5; Ease of Use: 4.5 Style The Elements of Style Text of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. a book that every writer should read at least once a year. Contents: 5; Ease of Use: 5  Highly Recommended Plain English Campaign This site, based in England, declares:  "We are an independent organisation fighting for crystal-clear language and against jargon, gobbledygook and other confusing language."   An interesting feature (under Examples) is the gobbledegook generator, which will help you to write opaque prose just like a consultant,  Content: 3; Ease of Use: 4 Grammar and Style Common Errors in English "Brian's Errors" covers many of common errors in English usage and grammar.  You need to go to a list of errors (they're arranged alphabetically) and then find what you need to look up.  However, the search can be very rewarding.  The site also gives a list of other resources. Content: 4; Ease of Use: 5 Links from refdesk.com A resource that may make my own listings redundant, this site gives links to 91 useful references on grammar, usage, and style, with seven links to resources specifically for proposal writers. Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5 Underground Grammarian The essays and articles on this site discuss various topics related to grammar and language.  Their author, Richard Mitchell, died in 2002, but the site remains as a memorial to him.  It is not a reference source, but it does contain some very interesting material for people engaged in the writer's craft, including Professor Mitchell's complete newsletters, dating from 1977. Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5 Word Reference Dictionary.com Probably one of the easier to use online dictionaries and certainly a resource worth bookmarking.  Offers both a dictionary and thesaurus, with other features.  Downside:  An awful lot of advertising creates clutter.  Content: 4.5;  Ease of Use: 4.5 World Wide Words Here's a gem of a site, viewing "international English from a British viewpoint," that explores words and contains some interesting and arcane facts.  Recently revised in 2005, this site is even better than ever.  True verbivores can subscribe to a free newsletter.  There's also a link for sending questions about words, their origins, and their meanings.  This huge site is maintained by Michael Quinion, an unquestionable authority on the English language. Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5 Fun with Words Here's a site that is exactly what it says it is.  Besides such useful sections as  lists of commonly confused words, commonly misspelled words, and commonly mispronounced words, it has sections on grammar foibles (errors in grammar that produce humorous results), conflicting proverbs (wise sayings that contradict each other), a "glossary of fun words," and more. Content 5; Ease of Use: 5  Highly recommended Wordspy Wordspy's accurate self-description states:  "This Web site and its associated mailing list are devoted to recently coined words and phrases, old words that are being used in new ways, and existing words that have enjoyed a recent renaissance." Content 5; Ease of Use 5 English (British) Slang Dictionary A compendium of English (British) slang, from abdabs to zonk and Z's, with easy alphabetical access.  Some entries are strictly British; others apply to both Britain and the U.S. Content 4; Ease of Use 5 Idioms & Axioms Idiomatic expressions from American English are explained, giving their meanings and origins.  Content: 3.5; Ease of Use: 5 The Devil's Dictionary Not really a reference and just for fun, Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary is as amusing and witty today as it was when it was published nearly a century ago.  Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5  Writing in General Essay Writing Guide A simple and straightforward presentation of the basic principles of constructing an essay – ideal for students who don't know how to begin.  While this site does not presume to burden the beginner with details, it does give links to other, more advanced resurces for essay writers. Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5 API's Writing and Publishing Resources Maintained by the American Press Institute (API), this page in its website gives numerous links to writers' resources.  Emphasis is on journalism, but more general resources are also listed.  Content: 4.5; Ease of Use: 5 Reference: General The Glossarist Extremely useful site for locating glossaries of terms (and other information) via either a search or the site's extensive list of categories.  Not just rhetorical, grammatical, and literary terms but a plethora of other subjects from "the arts" to "world, regions, countries, and travel." Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5   ESL (English As Second Language) Using English A comprehensive source for learners of English as a second language.  One outstanding section is the alphabetical listing of idioms.  Content: 5; Ease of Use: 4.5 ESL Quizzes From usingenglish.com, some self-tests (with answers) on English grammar and usage, especially designed for ESL students.  Content: 4.5; Ease of Use: 5 ESL Self-Study Exercises Contains interactive exercises for students of English as a second language:  grammar, vocabulary, idioms, etc.  May also be of interest to native speakers. Content 4; Ease of Use 5 (but site may load very slowly) Word Power The book on which this site is based is designed primarily for non-native speakers who are learning English.  Content is simple and straightforward.  The index is especially useful for finding specific information quickly. Content: 3.5; Ease of Use: 4.5 Forums, Discussion Groups, Etc. Grammarboard A  board for discussion of grammar, the Grammarboard is inhabited by denizens of a now defunct message board, many of whom are very knowledgeable people.  Registration is required.  Content: 4; Ease of Use: 4 Lydbury Grammar Clinic and Forum Based in the UK, this site hosts a forum and chat room for people who are interested in the English language.  To use all of the features, you'll want to register, an easy process with no cost. Content: 5; Ease of Use: 5 Online Grammar Exercises St. Martin's Guide Exercises Excellent site with lots of exercises.  Enter your name to log in to interactive exercises Commnet Grammar Guide Many quizzes and exercises, although a little complex to navigate. Grammar Bytes Interactive Interactive exercises on subject-verb agreement, pronouns, comma splices, and more.  Explanations are quite instructive. A Writer's Reference This site is keyed to Dianne Hacker's handbook, A Writer's Reference (6th edition), and offers a large number of interactive exercises.  With free registration, you can do these exercises and get the answers online as you go.  Access to the handbook itself and to some other features, however, requires paid registration.  (Note:  This site can sometimes have bugs,) The Grammar Complex Click "Grammar Workout" to get to interactive exrcises. Big Dog's Grammar Gives the rules and then offers a self-test – separate exercise sections on various topics from agreement to parallelism. Online Learning Center Thirty-three chapters on various points of grammar.  Each has interactive exercises.  Find chapter; click on interactive exercise or diagnostic test.  Lessons must be downloaded, though.  Very complete but requires some practice to navigate. Blue Book of Grammar Rules and exercises with answers.