Englishhelp.ca

Melanie Sexton PH.D.

These are links to some of the best sites on grammar, writing, and related topics. This list does not include any of the many resources for learners of English as a second language.

Grammar

Purdue University's online writing lab (OWL) is the most solid and long-standing of English grammar sites. From the home page, use the search box to search a specific issue or choose Professional Writers from the list on the left and then Grammar and Mechanics from the navigation section on the right.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

HyperGrammar at the University of Ottawa explains grammar in traditional terms:
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/

Jack Lynch's Guide to Grammar and Style is a good down-to-earth guide to grammar, organized alphabetically:
http://www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/index.html

Grammar Now has many useful links in the Resources section:
http://www.grammarnow.com/

Grammar Bytes has exercises on common grammar challenges and accompanying tips:
http://www.chompchomp.com/menu.htm

Miss Grammar's Good Grammar, Good Style archive has useful information about specific grammatical issues:
http://www.protrainco.com/info/links/gramlink.htm

Writing and Plain Language

Plain Language Association InterNational has many plain language resources, including real examples of writing before and after plain language application:
http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/

This is a U.S. government site, but it has much useful information on plain language:
http://www.plainlanguage.gov/

Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is a classic, though somewhat dated:
http://www.bartleby.com/141/

Paul Brian's Common Errors in English Usage covers many word confusions:
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/index.html

Online Dictionaries

For academic uses, approach online dictionaries cautiously. Unlike the selected printed dictionaries that have become classics such as Oxford and Merriam-Websters they are of highly variable quality and none can give you all the information you might need in an academic context. Most importantly, there is no free, comprehensive Canadian online dictionary. Remember that Canadian spelling and usage differs from both U.S. and British.

Merriam-Websters online (an abridged version of the full dictionary):
http://www.merriam-webster.com/

The Free Dictionary has several applications useful for learning new words:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/

http://www.dictionary.com

Documentation Style

Chicago Manual of Style online:
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

Summary of MLA style guidelines:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/

Summary of APA style guidelines:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/