Online Resources for Writers

Guide to Grammar and Writing
Contains definitions, suggestions, over 170 computer-graded quizzes, and a way to submit queries regarding grammar and usage. An award-winning Website from Capital Community College in Hartford

Sentence Sense: A Writer's Guide
Written by Evelyn Farbman of Capital Community College and prepared for use on the Internet by Charles Darling. This online textbook in basic writing offers students three approaches to becoming more confident writers. Part One examines how sentences work, giving students a structural understanding of the language they use every day. Part Two focuses on errors that commonly appear in written English. Part Three suggests techniques and topics for developing ideas in writing. Sentence Sense contains nearly 200 interactive applications.

Guide to Writing Research Papers
Prepared by the Humanities Department at Capital Community College. Suggestions on research techniques and patterns of documentation based on the style recommended by the Modern Language Association. There is also an online research guide based on documentation patterns approved by the American Psychological Association.

Recommendations for Writing Papers about Literature
Another handy and authoritative guide from Capital Community College in Hartford.

Online Dictionaries, Thesauri, Encyclopedias
from the Capital Library

Writer's Web
This site is maintained by the Writing Center at the University of Richmond. The material here on getting started with writing projects and on peer editing is especially helpful. Visit, also, the material in "Focusing & Connecting Ideas."

Traditional Grammar: An Interactive Book
Don Hardy, Professor of English at Northern Illinois University, provides this excellent, thorough, and easy-to-use guide to traditional grammar.

Advice on Academic Writing
Administered by Dr. Margaret Proctor, Coordinator of Writing Support at the University of Toronto, this page has many useful and well written handouts for academic writers.

Elements of Style
By William Strunk, Jr. This venerable book (some have called it overbearing) has been around for generations. The section on omitting needless words should be read by everyone. This online version does not contain the prefatory piece by E.B. White.

Modern English Grammar
Daniel Kies, Department of English, College of DuPage, maintains this complete and easy-to-navigate textbook.

Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
From Michael Harvey at Washington College, a thorough, readable, and engaging online textbook.

The American Heritage Book of English Usage: A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English (1996)
A detailed look at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups and scientific forms, this valuable reference work is ideal for students, writers, academicians and anybody concerned about proper writing style.

The Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab (OWL)
Contains on-line exercises and links to other resources for writing assistance. One of the best academic sites for writing help.

Proofreading Symbols and Abbreviations
based on the MLA Handbook.

Paradigm: Online Writing Assistant
A superb, nicely organized, and extremely helpful guide for Composition. By Chuck Guilford, an English Professor at Boise State University

Writing the Argumentative Essay
An extremely thorough resource, from Bill Daly at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia.