News Library News Online
Vol. 21, No.3/Spring 1999

Table of Contents

Minneapolis: Welcomes the News Division on its 75th Anniversary
Aside Bar
Notes from the Chair
News Research at the Post
People
Rewarding a Job Well Done
Winter SLA Recap
Poynter: News Research in the  Newsroom
News Research with an Ethnic Touch
Technology Tips: ABC's Intranet
Public Reference

Web Extras:

Training Copy Editors
Election Winners

News Library News
SLA News Division Home

 

Editing Resources on the Internet

By Susan Jones

Like many projects, this one started out innocently enough: a few requests for helpful sources for copy editors; inquiries here and there about web sites useful to writers; questions now and then about good sources for grammar tips.

Before I knew it, the idea was hatched to create a list of such Internet resources. We thought that this list would be useful in BNA's in-house copy editing classes, as a link on the company's Intranet, or as a good handout in the library.

There is an abundance of editing and writing help online. I divided my list into sections. For the most part, the listed web sites fall into the following categories: Editing/Style/Usage, Online Writing Labs, Grammar, Words and Miscellaneous.

Editing / Style / Usage

William F. Blinn Communications
http://www.blinn.com

From Blinn Communications, specializing in web design and editorial consultation, the "technology in plain English." With /Summit97/ extension, you get his 75-minute presentation of the 1997 Ventura Summit in Dallas, Texas.

The Slot
http://www.theslot.com

Subtitled "A Spot for Copy Editors," this site is by Bill Walsh and features as its "heart" The Curmudgeon's Stylebook, intended (according to the author) to be a supplement, not a replacement, to AP's stylebook. Access is by category and by index. Also amusing are Walsh's "rants" in the Sharp Points section, where he vents about certain pet peeves, e.g. misguided emphasis on the active voice, misuse of slang, and overuse of capitalization.

CopyEditor
http://www.copyeditor.com

Home page of the newsletter of the same name (Copy Editor Language News for the Publishing Professional). The visitor can download a sample issue and can click on links for copy editors. Provides updates on usage and style, answers to "sticky" copy-editing questions, new words, book reviews, interviews, and editors' opinions on points of usage.

Garbl's Writing Resources On Line
http://pw1.netcom.com/~garbl1/writing.html

"The Ultimate Creativity Tool," this site focuses on English language, grammar, style, writing, usage, words, reference sources, word play, books on writing, and online writing experts. One of the best lists of links related to writing.

The Arrow
http://www.wport.com/~cawilcox/start2.htm

Colin Wilcox, technical writer and web developer, has developed this "easy, fast outlining tool that helps you find your voice, organize your thoughts, untangle kinked prose, unstick your frozen brain, and stir your creative juices."

Criscadian's Active Voice
http://members.aol.com/criscadian/

James A. Ayers of Criscadian Editorial Services has provided this site full of practical, useful advice. Features: a Body of Verbs Thesaurus, Quick Tips, with ideas and tricks for better writing, and a Self-Critique Test for Writers.

Deadwood Phrases
http://www.pnl.gov/ag/usage/deadwood.html

Prune that deadwood from your phrases. Your writing will thank you for it. (And your readers!) From Battelle's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

The King's English
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/fowler/

H.W. Fowler's 1908 classic work, covering vocabulary, syntax, punctuation, and grammar.

WWW Virtual Library : Journalism
http://www.cais.com/makulow/vlj.html

Covers broadcasting, communications, media, and news. Arranged alphabetically in ten sections, covering such things as associations, awards, news bureaus, and Internet alerts.

Writing Tools
http://www.diane.com/readers/writelucy.html

Lucy Lynch, at the University of Oregon's Computing Center, has compiled a wonderful list of writing tool bookmarks.

Internet Resources on Writing
http://www.trinityvt.edu/facc/writing.htm

Many links to sites helpful for the writing process, getting started, obstacles & anxieties, revision, grammar, style, etc. and research resources.

Writing Info Service
http://info-scom/writing.html

Many (over three pages) of links to writing programs, grammar, and writers' societies and guilds.

Writing Wrong: 10 Common Stumblers
http://www.alaska.net/~mjedit/tips.html

This is from Marthy W. Johnson, Copyediting Services, of Anchorage, Alaska. Correct those manglers and potholes, give some backbone to wimpy words, tame your vicious verbs and runonandons, and straighten those gender benders.

Writing Basics
http://www.scalar.com/mw/pages/articles.shtml

Links to websites dealing with motivation & inspiration, fiction, non-fiction and improving your writing.

11 Rules of Writing
http://kbidesign.cnchost.com/writing.shtml

This is a service of Junket Studies of northern New Jersey.

Ask the Style Meister
http://www.castlecommunications.com/asksm.html

Lana Castle of Castle Communications in Austin, TX, a private editing and publication service.

Writing Tips of the Month
http://www.niva.com/tips

Timely hints on grammar, style, formatting and other related topics. Niva Inc. is a technical documentation and communications firm in Ottawa, Canada.

The Convergence Magazine House Style v 2.01
http://www.saila.com/usage/stylequide/

From Craig Saila and Convergence (an online publication) -- an online writing guide.

Editorial Eye
http://www.eei-alex.com/eye/

A sampler of articles from The Editorial Eye, "a resource for writers, editors, designers, project managers, communications specialists, and everyone else who cares about contemporary publishing practices."

Strunk's Elements of Style
http://www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk

A classic. Information on grammar, punctuation, style, and sentence and paragraph formation.

The Writer's Corner
http://www.digitalaire.com/DigAire/LibRef/Writers.html

A bibliography for copy editors, this has many interesting and valuable links.

Writing/Editing/Design for COPYEDITORS
http://www.poynter.org/vjold/copyed97/copyed97.html

This is the Poynter Institute's Visual Journalism home page, with handouts, tips, and links.

Copy Editing for Magazines
http://www.well.com/user/mmcadams/copy.editing.html

Mindy McAdams (copy editor, educator, and consultant) offers an interactive spelling test, an introduction to the copy editor's vocabulary, a guide to magazine copy editing, a bibliography of books essential for an experienced copy editor, and even more links.

Inklings
http://www.inkspot.com/inklings/

A free, biweekly electronic newsletter for writers.

Inkspot
http://www.inkspot.com/

A resource for writers -- a comprehensive source full of market information and tips on improving writing.

ACES
http://www.copydesk.org/

The American Copy Editors Society. A lot of good information here: Words on Words, job openings, surveys of copy editors, discussion boards, educational and training opportunities, internships, and links to reference sources.

Editor's Ink -- Related Links
http://www.copydesk.org/editorsink/links.htm

Many links to journalists' and editors' professional organizations, associations, societies, foundations, and institutes.

Freelance Editorial Association
http://www.tiac.net/users/freelanc/

A nonprofit membership organization, working to promote the interests of freelancers in many editorial fields.

Editorial Freelancers Association
http://www.the-efa.org/

A job bank and professional resource.

Freelance Online
http://www.freelanceonline.com/index.html

A Directory of and resource center for freelancers in the fields of communication. Jobs, message boards, FAQs, and a searchable directory of over 700 freelancers.

The Electric Editors
http://www.ikingston.demon.co.uk/ee/home.htm

Based in the UK, with many links to newsletters on language, technology, and editorial style.

So, You Want to Be an Editor?
http://www.web.net/eac-acr/pubs/so.htm

(Subtitled "A Gentle Introduction to the Profession of Editing") An essay from the Editors' Association of Canada.

Writers Write
http://www.writerswrite.com/

(The Internet Writing Journal) An excellent resource for professional writers.

John Hewitt's Writer's Resource Center
http://www.azstarnet.com./~poewar/writer/writer.html

Articles (John Hewitt and others), lists, notes, FAQs, recommended reading. Helpful links, too.

Bread Loaf School of English: Composition
http://www.breadloaf.middlebury.edu/resources/comp.html

Educational resources on general writing, creative writing, organizing and planning, grammar, and electronic communication.

The Write Page
http://www.writepage.com/

Another online newsletter, this one with over 300 pages of author and book information for readers and how-to information for writers of genre fiction.

The Desktop Writing workshop
http://www.writingshop.com/

Tom Parker puts you through interactive exercises. (For a fee.)

Online Writing Labs

Writers' Workshop
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/frmain01.htm

From the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explanations and illustrations of the basic grammatical rules for parts of speech, phrases, clauses, sentences and sentence elements, and common problems of usage.

Online Writing Labs
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

An excellent resource, this is a compendium of writing resources for students and teachers. It is a project supported by Purdue University and its Department of English, offering long distancelearning for the Purdue community and Internet users. Its goal: to help writers improve their writing skills. Provides many links.

Texas A&M Writing Center Hyper-Handouts
http://www-english.tamu.edu/wcenter/handouts.html

Help on a variety of writing topics. Takes you from the planning through the rough draft and polishing states. Also suggestions on writing about plays, poetry, prose, journal articles or essays, and literature in general.

The Writing Center at UW-Madison
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/index.html

Provides individual instruction, a writer's handbook, FAQs, and links to other Internet resources. Like the above site from Purdue University, this is one of a growing list of On-Line Writing Labs (OWLs).

Writing-Related Internet Sites
http://www.sprog.auc.dk/~dennis/iccwpss98/iccwpss98_writweb.html

Many, many, many, many links to OWLs, and to general writing/grammar resources, subject-specific writing resources, and other writing reference sites. Did we say lots?

Grammar

On-Line English Grammar
http://www.ednet.com/english/grammar/index.html

From the Digital Education Network (www.edunet.com/), this resource by Anthony Hughes (UK) is an online English grammar, with a table of contents specifying Adjectives, Adverbs, Nouns, Possessives, Determiners, Pronouns, and Verbs. There is also a subject index.

Grammar Queen
http://grammarqueen.com

The queen (Wendy Weiner) offers "sage advice on how to wipe up those dangling modifiers, pull the plug on passives, … ." What appear to be links to helpful resources (e.g. Bartlett's Roget's Thesaurus and the American Heritage College Dictionary are really only links to amazon.com.

Grammar Lady
http://www.grammarlady.com

Mary Newton Bruder offers grammar tips and a grammar line (1-800-279-9708). Her purpose: "to raise consciousness about correct language use, and to remind everyone of the ways to have fun with language."

Ask Miss Grammar
http://www..swcp.com/info/noframes/grammar.htm

Miss Grammar is Helen Moody, Ph.D., Professional Training Co., Corrales, N.M. Articles and archives on grammar and usage.

Grammar and Style Notes
http://www.english.upenn.edu/~jlynch/grammar.html

By Jack Lynch. "… a miscellany of grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and suggestions on usage …" An alphabetical organization of many different aspects of grammar, style, and writing.

English Consulting and Language Reference Service
http://www.EnglishConsulting.com/

A commercial service with experience in teaching, writing, and editing. "Do you have a question about english grammar or some other language topic? Ask us!"

Grammar NOW!
http://www.grammarnow.com/

Personal answers by e-mail to your questions about grammar, usage, composition, editing and proofreading.

Grammar Girl's Guide to the English Language
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1489/

This service is provided by an experienced technical, scientific and newsletter/magazine editor.

Grammar Slammer
http://englishplus.com/grammar/

The English Language Experts of Shelton, Connecticut have developed this online version of their commercial product.

Big Dog's Grammar
http://gabiscott.com/bigdog/

G&S Services, an editing, language instruction and resume writing firm in Amarillo, TX.

Emergency Grammar System
http://jcomm.uoregon.edu/~russial/grammar/grambo.html

This is a test. This is only a test. But it's an amusing one, and worth trying. See how you score!

Guide to Grammar and Writing
http://webster.commnet.edu/HP/pages/darling/grammar.htm

Prepared by Charles Darling, Professor of English/Humanities for English courses at Capital Community-Technical College and for the online public.

Pop-Up Grammar
http://www.brownlee.org/durk/grammar/

From Northern Illinois University, an online English grammar instruction site. Students may take several tests and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. Future plans include links to assistance pages for further instruction.

The Grammar Doctor
http://www.nsti.tec.tn.us/grammar_dr/

Nashville State Tech provides this service, which allows e-mail "Ask the Grammar Doctor" questions and quizzes.

 

Words

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm

A searchable database. Everyone needs a good dictionary. Want more than one? Five hundred? Read on!

A Web of On-line Dictionaries
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/diction.html

Links to more than 500 dictionaries in over 140 languages. Also a link on …

Focusing on Words
http://www.wordfocus.com/

"Experience the wonder of words by focusing on the Latin and Greek elements used in English."

Jesse's Word of the Day
http://www.randomhouse.com/jesse/

One of my favorite spots. If you've discovered his book (same title), you'll also love this website. Questions about words, grammar or usage are all answered at this site.

Wilton's Etymology Page
http://sprynet.com/sprynet/dwilton/etymal.htm

From David R. Wilton, Larkspur, California, interesting essays and articles on the history of English, word origins, and common errors.

Word for Word
http://www.peg.apc.org/~toconnor/

"Click and ye shall find … the origins of unusual words and phrases."

The Wordsmyth English Dictionaryt-Thesaurus
http://www.lightlink.com/bobp/wedt/

Robert Parks, Ph.D. and the ARTFL Project at the University of Chicago have developed this unique, integrated dictionary and thesaurus, with more than 100,000 entries.

The Word Wizard
http://www.wordwizard.com/newuser/default.htm

From London, England, Jonathon Green answers questions about word derivations, and offers a selection of new words, slang, quotations, and insults.

The Alternative Dictionaries
http://www.notam.uio.no/~hcholm/altlang/

International slang. You may read and input words not normally included in dictionaries.

Miscellaneous

The Library Spot
http://www.libraryspot.com

This should be on everyone's list of bookmarks. This site is a springboard to dictionaries, encyclopedias, quotations, directories, other libraries -- in short all major reference sources.

BookWire
http://www.bookwire.com/

"… the book industry's most comprehensive and thorough online information source." Industry news, reviews, original fiction, interviews, and annotated links to related sites.

The Quotations Page
http://www.starlingtech.com/quotes/

My favorite hangout. You can search one or up to ten full-text sources for words or just get your "quote fix" -- regular or motivational -- for the day. (Or week.)

 

Susan Jones is currently working at the Bureau of National Affairs. For eight years, she managed the corporate library at American States Insurance (now Safeco) in Indianapolis, Indiana.

 


News Library News
SLA News Division Home

The page was reformatted on 4/6/03. The content, including URLs and contact information, on this page has not been updated to preserve the historical record.

Comments about News Library News should go to the editor.
Comments about the Web site should go to the Webmaster: newsdivisionweb@yahoo.com