The Bass Writing
Program’s Favorite Links
We have looked at many writing-related web sites. Here are some of our favorites
The Best General Sources:
“Writing Prose,” Yale’s guide, available in print as well as online; see http://www.yale.edu/bass/gencon.html for “General Considerations; for queries on details, see “Writing Prose Plus,” at http://www.yale.edu/bass/wp/writingprose.htm
-http://owl.English.purdue.edu/handouts -- The online writing lab, full of useful, reliable handouts on every writing topic imaginable
-http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/owls/writing-labs.html#r-t -- Purdue’s guide to other online writing guides
-http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/html/tools.htm -- Harvard’s website offering thorough instruction on writing academic essays, including advice on how to read critically, how to develop a thesis, how to begin and end an essay
-www.bartleby.com/141/strunk.html -- A classic: the original 1918 edition of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style; keep in mind that this is available because the copyright has lapsed. If you like what you see here, consider ordering the current in-print, more up-to-date version that has been revised to reflect contemporary usage
-http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/ -- A useful, humorous guide to college writing
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/writing/Writing_Center/WCWritingRes.htm -- Down-to-earth advice for academic papers, starting with “Ten Suggestions from the Writing Center”
For First and Second-Year Students:
-http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/resources/collegewriting/index.htm -- A guide illustrating, among other things, the differences between high school and college papers
http://www.utoronto.ca/writing -- “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQs) is generally useful. Among the FAQs, “I’m writing my first college paper. What do I do?”
- http://www.library.yale.edu/instruction/english114/index.html -- The research guide for English 114 students
-http://www.library.yale.edu/instruction/english115/index.html – The guide for helping English 115 students with their class assignments
For Research and Resources:
-http://lookwayup.com/free/ -- A dictionary that not only provides definitions but also corrects your spelling if need be; includes a thesaurus and foreign language dictionaries
-http://www.eslcafe.com/search – Helpful for ESL students; the Purdue site listed above under “The Best General Sources,” also provides another such guide
-http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl – The Oxford English Dictionary online; the OED does not simply give the definition of any word but traces the history of each entry to show how where each has originated and how each has evolved
-http://thorplus.lib.purdue.edu/reference/index.html -- Purdue OWL’s “Virtual Reference Desk” – lists online dictionaries and other resources. http://www.albany.edu/writing/resourceseval.htm -- Links to guides on evaluating Internet information
-http://www.library.yale.edu/instruction/topic.html -- “Researching a Topic in Four Easy Steps,” a general guide to research from Yale reference librarians
For Writing in Different Disciplines:
-www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Writing_Center/departme.htm – Useful tips for writing papers for history and English courses
-http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/index.html -- Descriptions of what professors may expect for assignments in various disciplines (art history, business writing, history, literature, philosophy, political science, religious studies, sciences, scientific research reports, and sociology)
-http://writing.richmond.edu:16080/writing/wweb.html#source –Under “Writing First Drafts,” information for writing essay exams, for writing in biology, history, and scientific journal articles, as well as for writing a research paper for the social sciences, though portions are specific to the author’s courses
-http://depts.washington.edu/psywc/handouts.shtml –Information for writing psychology papers, including summarizing research articles, putting together a critical review, and a general style guide for psychology papers
-http://web.mit.edu/writing/site_map.html -- a site map to MIT’s list of sources, some from MIT, some from other online writing labs - particularly useful for scientific and technological writing; however, much of what is offered at this site restricted to MIT students and faculty
-http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/writecenter/web/handouts.html – Rensselaer Polytechnic’s guides for general academic, scientific, and technical writing
-http://fbox.vt.edu/eng/mech/writing/ -- For engineering and science students
-http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html --“How Users Read on the Web Report” Ex
-http://www.webreference.com/content/writing/ -- “Writing Well for the Web offers, as it states, “Quick and Easy Tips” for those unaccustomed to web writing
-http://www.webstyleguide.com -- Web Style Guide, 2nd Edition -- the online version of Patrick Lynch's Web Style Guide
-http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/wftw1.html -- “The Difference Between Online and Paper Presentation”