We can keep our grammar and usage skills current and polished in a couple
of ways. One way is to take a few minutes each day to review grammar
and word usage. Another way is to identify common errors—both our own and
others--and work to eliminate them.
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AskOxford
http://www.askoxford.com
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This language site is rich
in a variety of resources. In addition to looking up the meaning
of words, it provides information about words, word of the day,
quotes, better writing tips and more.
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Charles Harrington Elster's Member Page
http://members.authorsguild.net/chelster
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Charles Harrington Elster is a lexicomane,
a lover of dictionaries. In addition to referencing his books,
it includes some of his recent articles on words.
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Common Errors in English
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors
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Common Errors in English presents a variety of common errors
in word use and spelling as well as non-errors. It also has links
to other useful sites.
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Correctness Quizzes
http://www.mhhe.com/business/buscom/lesikar/student/quizzes.mhtml
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Correctness Quizzes gives you an interactive opportunity to
test your own skills.
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Daily Grammar
http://www.dailygrammar.com
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Daily Grammar sends
you an email messages with a writing lesson five days of the
week and a quiz on the sixth day. Additionally, the site contains
an archive of its content.
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Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com
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Dictionary.com provides both a word look-up section as well as an option to
a premium dictionary. The results page presents the meaning from
several sources as well as a pronunciation sound file. The page
also contains links to other language dictionaries, grammar sites,
thesaurus, and more.
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Gender-Neutral Pronoun FAQ
http://www.aetherlumina.com/gnp
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Despite its political bias, this clearly organized
site is a good place to find answers to your questions on gender-neutral
pronouns. It presents a general and specific discussions of gender-neutral
alternatives to gendered pronouns.
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Merriam-Webster Online
http://www.m-w.com
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The Merriam-Webster
Online site is a rich, up-to-date reference site. A year's subscription
to the Collegiate dictionary is included with your text, bringing
you access to a full set of tools. The downloadable toolbar and
search button features give you instant access to word meanings.
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Michael Harvey's Nuts and Bolts of College Writing
http://www.nutsandboltsguide.com/rhetoric.html
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This site is rich in both content and examples. It covers style
and documentation. A good section on plagiarism is included.
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OneLook Dictionary
http://www.onelook.com
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The One Look Dictionary site is a meta-dictionary tool. It provides a results page with
a quick definition as well as links to many dictionaries and
sorts them by type. It gives an option for wildcard searching
as well as a reverse dictionary tool.
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Right Words: Gender-neutral Language
http://www.rightwords.co.nz/sexist.html
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One of the most significant changes taking place in English
is the rejection of the way that 'man' was assumed to include
'woman'. Help your writing to become more friendly and inclusive.
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The American Heritage Dictionary, Fourth Edition
http://www.bartleby.com/61
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In addition to giving the definitions and pronunciations, this
provides the notes typically found in the print editions of dictionaries.
The notes on Living Language are particularly interesting, discussing
regionalisms as well as origin of words.
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The Slot
http://www.theslot.com
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The Slot is a site for copyeditors
as well as a book companion site. Two excellent features are
the "Sharp Points" and "Carets
and Sticks" sections
where contemporary examples are shown and discussed.
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Visual Thesaurus Online
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/online/index.html
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As we become more visual, this recent addition
to reference tools is one you may want at your finger tips. It
uses circles, colors, and lines to visually represent words and
relationships. Take the guided tour and try out the online tool.
A desktop tool with additional features is also available.
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Yahoo! Reference
http://education.yahoo.com/reference
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This
site provides tools for searching various types of reference
books as well as links to others. It provides a word of the day
as well as a factoid quiz.
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