Style Guides Writers Resources

Style Guides Writers Resources

Style guides are used by writers to keep up with changes to the language. Also for improving their own use of the language (words, phrases and grammar) in their writing. Often newspapers put out a style guide for their writers and editors.

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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.
Garbl's Editorial Style Manual - Provides advice on abbreviations, capitalization, grammar, numbers, plurals, possessives, punctuation, spelling and word usage.
Plain Language Action Network - Promoting clearer communication between the public and government. This site has resources for writers to attain that goal.
SecretariesUSA.com - Reference for the home and corporate office, including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, sentence structure, forms of address, abbreviations, letter styles, and business forms.
Frequently Asked Questions about English - Answers to common questions about usage, style, grammar and punctuation.
Findaphrase.com - Free phrase database to help journalists, copywriters and content editors search common phrases.
Good Grammar, Good Style - Articles and answers to frequently asked questions about grammar, mechanics, and style. Links and bibliography.
AskOxford.com - For questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage. Search a dictionary of words, names or quotations.
Web Typography - The elements of typographic style applied to the web.
Slang City - Writing about American slang.
Plain English Campaign - An independent group fighting for plain English in public communication. We oppose gobbledygook, jargon and legalese.
Tribe: Word Freaks - Group for people who love discussing words and writing style.
Linguistic Phenomena/Devices - A list of lesser-known features in English writing. Hendiadys, holonyms, and hypernyms.
The Archive of Endangered, Special, or Fun Words - Writing about and classifying words and language.
Ralph's Manual of Style - A guide to style, grammar, usage, and more by a guy named Ralph.
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.
Illiterate Businesses - An unabashed rant weblog featuring English-language business signs with grammatical, spelling and/or punctuation errors. Includes a free sign editing offer.
Glossarist.com - A searchable directory of thousands of glossaries and topical dictionaries containing terms and definitions on hundreds of subjects.
Cliche - List of 2000 English cliches with some statistical and literary notes on their use.
Cliche Finder - Special tool word-searches 3,300 cliches.
The Well Bred Sentence - Online book offering an intensive course in sentence construction and punctuation.
Lingo Factory - A cooperative effort to coin useable terms and then trick people into using them regularly as though they are real words.
The Economist Style Guide - Guide based on the style book given to all journalists at The Economist.
Focusing on Words - Subscription-based site for vocabulary development, showcasing the Latin and Greek roots of English words.
Guides for Better Science Writing - Bibliography of style manuals for scientific research, writing, and presentation. Guides for biology, medicine, chemistry, engineering, geology, and mathematics.
Macedon's Taberna: The Craft of Writing - Commentary on various technical aspects of writing: the nuts and bolts of narrative.
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.
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.
Suite 101: Workplace Communications - Archive of articles covering writing and speaking skills, with emphasis on clear communication, basic design, communicating with international and multicultural audiences.
Ewriting - Easy to learn electronic writing style that will speed up email and online chatroom discussions.
Word Rogues - Tips on writing, English, and grammar. This site also includes active community college English syllabii and links to other writing, grammar sites.
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.
Modern Language Association - The Modern Language Association is the official guide to non-fiction writing. Includes a guide to MLA style.
Word Spy - The word lover's web site by Paul McFedries.
CBC News: Words, Woe & Wonder - An in-depth look at the words we use from CBC News.
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.
Wordelizer - Delve deeply into a word or subject. Quick search of several word and language related sites.
How to Write an Explication - Step-by-step directions to writing an explication. Good and bad examples provided.
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.
Word Lab - A message board where you can request and brainstorm words, names, titles, coinages, puns, phrases, slogans and slang.
The Word Centre - Consulting firm dedicated to training businesses to use plain English. Free newsletter and professional editing services.
The Sports Cliche List - A large, searchable collection of sports cliches, lingo, and jargon.
SDSU Writing Resource Crib - Offering tips and lively description on grammar, English, and writing.
WritingDEN - Interactive site created to help students improve English reading, writing and listening skills.
The Wonderful Writing Skills Unhandbook - An interactive site that uses the writing process to teach writing skills.
11 Rules of Writing - Concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar.
The Book of Cliches - A compilation of common phrases, euphemisms, and rationales for times of trouble. Organized by occasion.
Suite101: Word Play - Archived discussions and articles concerning words.
Braintique: The Natural Way to Write - A process and system for helping people become better writers. Includes exercises, examples, and information about descriptive writing and metaphors.
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant - Help in discovering, organizing, revising, and editing informal, thesis, argumentative, and exploratory essays.
Economist Style Guide - Based on the guide given to all journalists at The Economist. Includes quiz.
Suite101: English Grammar - Archive of articles about English grammar and style.
Rhetorical Figures - From alliteration to zeugma, and everything in between, all the figures of speech are here.
The Word Nerds - A weekly podcast about words, language, and why we say the things we do.
Word Quests - Word lists that provide thematic units of English words derived from Latin and Greek sources.
Cliche Web - Thousands of cliches. Fully searchable and interactive. Formerly Steve's Cliche List. Since 1995.
Pseudo Dictionary - The dictionary for words that wouldn't make it into dictionaries.
The Tongue Untied - Grammar, punctuation and style for journalists.
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.
Wordiness - A list of words and phrases to purge from your writing.
Online Classes in Rhetoric, University of Minnesota - The University of Minnesota offers a number of Internet correspondence courses in rhetoric. Sign up here.
Jargon Finder - The use and abuse of jargon. From The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.
Writer's Dreamtools - A series of useful tools to enhance writers' and students' creativity, spark ideas and fight writer's block.
Correct Punctuation - A brief guide to correct English punctuation.
Exploring English - An online tutorial for the parts of speech with style notes for the English Language.
Grammar Slammer - This help file indexes style and usage, capitalization, abbreviations, punctuation, letter writing, common mistakes and a grammar glossary.
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.
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.
Dr. NAD's Prig Page. - Tests of usage, built interactively.
Guide to Grammar and Style - The information ranges from copy editing to elements of style to discussions. Practical information about the writing craft.
Word Fugitives - An interactive column by The Atlantic's Barbara Wallraff. Discovers needs in our language and recommends new words to fill them.
English Guides - A guide to English grammar. Also links to punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, and writing guides.
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.
Cliche Site - Clichés, sayings or phrases listed with definitions and explanations. Clichés are organized by subject and alphabetically and you can use the search function.
Writing For Multimedia - Michael Butzgy's style guide for multimedia.
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.
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.
Tribe: Linguistics - Group for discussions of words and language.
Verbivore - Richard Lederer's page, with contact information and a handful of his language-loving articles.
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.
Word Files of Confusing English Words - A presentation of English words that are often confusing with definitions and context examples.
Guardian Unlimited - Style Guide - The British newspaper's guide to word usage, grammar and punctuation, edited by David Marsh and Nikki Marshall. Includes 1928 edition in pdf format.
Bartleby.com: The Columbia Guide to Standard American English - Kenneth G. Wilson's handbook includes descriptive and prescriptive examples with hyperlinked cross-references.
The Philosophy of Punctuation - Paul Robinson's classic essay on periods, commas, semicolons, dashes.
E-dition: Dictionary of Concise Writing - A look at word usage in popular culture. The Dictionary of Concision is a complete manual of several thousand wordy phrases.
Common Errors in English - Catalogue of writing or speaking mistakes and easily confusable words, with corrections.
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.
Urban Dictionary - A veritable cornucopia of streetwise lingo, posted and defined by its readers.
WordWizard - Portal for word lovers. Learn about word meanings, slang, quotations, insults, and famous authors. Wordwizard offers a round trip across the English language.

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