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Each
month, we point the way to the best online and off- collections of
wordsmith goodies, such as anecdotes, jokes, grammar help, quotations and
more, to improve your speech or written communication, culled from our
editors' research.
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Three Self-Help Web Sites
for English Grammar and Punctuation Rules
Purdue's
Writing Lab
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts
/grammar/index.html
This site is an excellent resource for self-help with grammar, punctuation,
and spelling, brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.
There is a generous collection of easily digested material, including
handouts, exercises on grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and a supporting
section for learners of ESL - English as a Second Language. Material is
organized alphabetically within categories. There is also a search engine
on the site - which should be a boon to your research efforts.
Unfortunately, it failed completely on our tests over several days,
bringing up "page not found" errors. If you use their
hierarchical topic links, however, you can usually find your way to the
right information.
The Columbia
Guide to Standard American English
http://www.bartleby.com/68
This source, located on the bartleby.com site, is a pleasure to use. The
information on grammar is thorough (over 6,500 entries), and searchable,
with the aid of its effective, lightening-fast, on-site search engine. Each
rule of grammar is clearly explained and usually includes several examples
to help you understand the rule and employ it accurately. The only downfall
we find on this site is that the information is only available from its
search engine. Those who prefer to research a subject topically may be
disappointed by the lack of any hierarchical link access.
The
Gallery Of "Misused" Quotation Marks
http://www.juvalamu.com/qmarks/
If you question the use of quotation marks,
and wonder if they're being used wrongly where you work, come to this site,
dedicated to showing examples of misused quotation marks. It doesn't
pretend to be a reference site, but is an entertaining look at just how
much damage you can do to your reputation through ignorance. Hope and pray
that you don't find yourself quoted here.
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