Online Reference Resources for Writers

Dr. Stuart Blythe
Department of English & Linguistics
Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne

This handout presents a short list of reference resources available online—resources that may prove useful to you this semester. Included here are

• two dictionaries and a thesaurus
• two guides to common errors in English
• advice for citing research in four styles
• links to other writing resources

Look below for links to the type of reference you need as well as tips on using that site.

Two dictionaries & a thesaurus

OneLook Dictionary Search (http://www.onelook.com) searches the Web sites of hundreds of dictionaries. It has a clean interface and is easy to use. The only drawback is that you may get more than you want. If you want to use one dictionary, try Webster's.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Thesaurus (http://www.m-w.com/home.htm). This site offers you access to both the collegiate dictionary and thesaurus. (Note: It also offers access to the "unabridged" dictionary, but that's only through subscription.)

Usage Tips:

• When you get to the Merriam-Webster homepage, look for the search boxes, either for the dictionary or thesaurus.
• After you search, a page should appear with your definitions. Notice that you can click on a thesaurus or dictionary tab just above the definition. Notice too that you can enter a new search in boxes to the right of the definition.
• If you have audio on your computer, you can click on little red speaker icons to hear word pronunciations.

dictionaries and thesaurus | usage guides | citation styles | other resources

Two usage guides

Common Errors in English (http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/). Created by a professor at Washington State, this site explains many common spelling and usage errors in English. Don't know when to write there, their, or they're? Want to know whether to use hear or here? or to, too, or two? Want a brief review of comma usage? Try this site.

Usage tip: You cannot search Common Errors, so you have to scroll through an alphabetical list of topics. It's best if you have topics in mind before you use the site. If you see certain terms occurring in a teacher's response to you rpaper, try searching for those terms.

The English Usage section of Bartleby.com (http://www.bartleby.com/usage/). Bartleby.com has put many books online, including handbooks of English and American usage. From the English Usage, Style & Composition page, you can enter a search term, such as "commas" or "sentence fragment," and Bartleby will search its usage guides.

NOTE: You may get results from at least four different guides. Your best bets are The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (1993) and The American Heritage Book of English Usage (1996). Be wary of advice from the older books because they may be outdated.

Usage tips:

• When you enter a search term and get results, note where the results come from. Remember to look for results from The Columbia Guide or American Heritage.
• Watch out for ads. Although none of the ads are deceptive at Bartleby.com, you have to learn to ignore them. The ads usually appear to the right and top of a page. A pop-up may appear as well.

dictionaries and thesaurus | usage guides | citation styles | other resources

Four citation styles: IEEE, APA, Chicago, MLA

If you want to use a style that's common in engineering and computers, try the IEEE Computer Society Style Guide at http://www.computer.org/author/style/cs-style.htm. The References section of this guide explains how to cite sources such as journal articles, books, CD-ROMS, and Web sites.

If you want to use a style that's common to the social sciences, try the Purdue University Writing Lab handout on APA Style (American Psychological Association) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

If you want to use a style that's common in business and the humanities, try the University of Wisconsin Writing Lab handout on Chicago (Turabian) Style at http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChicago.html.

If you want to use a style that's common to English studies, try the Purdue University Writing Lab handout on MLA Style (Modern Language Association) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html.

dictionaries and thesaurus | usage guides | citation styles | other resources

Other resources

Try browsing the handouts at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/index.html. Or try Google's index of Style Guides and its index of dictionaries.