Writing-Related Resources

We've tried to collect a variety of resources (both our our own handouts and links to other writing-related sites) to help you meet a variety of writing demands. Please let us know if you find other relevant resources!

Our Own Handouts on Writing Skills We have over 100 documents available for you and offer three different ways to look for handouts: Our index of handouts lets you search all our documents by category. If you're unfamiliar with those general categories, you can read summaries of each.

On-line Resources for Writers In addition to the annotated lists below, check out our extensive collection of Writing Labs on the Internet and our pointers to search tools and directories. Our pointers to resources include Indexes for Writers Online Reference Resources Guides to Style and Editing Business and Technical Writing Children and Writing Professional Organizations ESL-Related Sites Listserv Groups

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Indexes for Writers

In addition to the resources listed at Search Tools and Directories, you might want to check out the following sites, which are related more directly to writing.

• Inkspot: Writer's Resources on the Web lists resources for all kinds of writing endeavors, including fiction, journalism, business and technology. Another source for all kinds of writing activities is John Hewitt's Writing Resource Center.

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Online Reference Resources

Carnegie-Mellon offers a variety of On-line Reference Works for the worldwide Internet community.

Online Handbooks include:

• Paradigm Online Writing Assistant uses frames to create an impressive hypertextual writing guide and handbook.
• The University of Victoria'sWriter's Guide offers a hypertextual set of information relating to writing. This site could be of special interest to writers in first-year composition.
• The DeVry Online Writing Support Center offers a variety of links to writing-related resources. Teachers of writing might find this site especially useful.

If you need MLA citation sources for electronic documents, check out these two pages:

• Janice Walker's MLA Electronic Citation page
• The International Federation of Library Associations' Citation Guide for Electronic Documents.

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Guides to Style and Editing

• Look up a word in the Hyptertext Webster Index
• William Strunk's original version of the Elements of Style (later made famous by E. B. White) is available courtesy of the Bartleby project.
• If you're interested in copy editing, check out Mindy McAdams's syllabus for a course she taught in copy editing. It includes useful information on the field as well as pointers to further reading. For more links on copy editing, take a look at the links maintained by Copy Editor newsletter.
• For fun, test your knowledge of Editorial Esoterica, brought to you by Andrea Sutcliffe and Editorial Eye
• Plagued by a grammar question for which you can't find an answer? Try one of the grammar hotlines listed in the Grammar Hotline Directory. Services are listed by state and include phone and e-mail information.

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Business & Technical Writing

• The Editorial Eye Internet site offers samples of their advice for writers, editors, and other communications specialists. Be sure to check out their index! They have some good short essays and reviews.

• Internet Resources for Technical Communicators provides helpful lists of newsgroups, journals, and listservs related to technical communication.

• Michael Alley's The Craft of Scientific Writing features writing tutorials and workbooks for graduate and undergraduate students in science and engineering. It includes instructions for formatting such genres as memos, proposals, and other types of reports.

• NASA publishes a valuable handbook entitled Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization--A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors by Mary McCaskill. Two chapters are online: Punctuation and Capitalization.

• Robert Ryan's Guide to Environmental Writing uses frames to offer a hypertextual guide with tips on grammar and mechanics as well as guides to common acronyms and abbreviations.

• For many useful links to telecommunications resources, check out Stephen Schiller's page.

• Those interested in technical writing might want to visit the Society for Technical Communication, and a student-run site for SCT at Clarkson University.

• The Institute of Electric and Electrical Engineers has a helpful page which includes a link to the IEEE Professional Communication Society

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Children and Writing

• If you're interested in publishing texts for children, check out The Children's Writing Resource Center.

• Also check out Inkspot and Michelle Childress' Language Arts and Literature Page

• Parents who want to help their children improve their writing skills might want to look at the U.S. Department of Education's brochure, Help Your Child Learn to Write Well.

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Professional Organizations

• Two groups related to computers and writing are the Alliance for Computers & Writing (ACW) and the Assembly on Computers in English. The latter group is part of the National Council of Teachers of English.
• The National Writing Centers Association has a site devoted to serving the needs of Writing Center directors and tutors. Also, The South Central Writing Centers Association, a regional branch of NWCA, is online.
• Those interested in technical writing might want to visit the Society for Technical Communication, and a student-run site for STC at Clarkson University.
• The National Writers' Union (The Trade Union for Freelance Writers) has information on their campaigns and projects, political issues, union documents & addresses, jobs, etc.
• The Institute of Electric and Electrical Engineers has a helpful page which includes a link to the IEEE Professional Communication Society

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ESL-Related Sites

• Our ESL links have recently been expanded and converted into its own series of pages, including specialized links for teachers and students.

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Listserv Groups

Here are the archives of recent postings by electronic discussion groups:

• Alliance for Computers and Writing
• MegaByte University (MBU)
• Writing Center

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Please, if you know of any Web or Gopher sites that you'd like to add to this page, Drop us an email message to owl@cc.purdue.edu.

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Last updated: 4/30/97: srb