The following links will take you to sources of writing information and help.  For example, you can connect to the OSU Writing Center, find up-to-date information about citing electronic media, research grammar questions, handle your punctuation errors, read an article about plagiarism, or locate any number of handy writing handouts.  I have also added some information about common writing problem areas (such as punctuation, capitalization, comparison, parallelism, passive voice, and modification) that I have written.

Grammar and Mechanics:

• Capitalization (This is a quick guide to some of the basic capitalization rules)

• Comparison (A big stumbling block for writers, writing grammatically correct comparisons can pose problems.)

• Modification (Modification is another problem area for writers; this page can get you on your way to better and clearer writing)

• Parallel Structure  (One of the biggest stumbling blocks for writers, parallel structure is simple to master. This page can help)

• Passive Voice vs. Active Voice (This page contains a full description of passive construction and some practice)

• Punctuation Quick & Easy (This is just what it says--a quick and easy-to-use guide to punctuation)

• Verb Tenses  (This page describes and gives examples of the twelve tenses)

• A Web of On-Line Grammars (This page maintains links with on-line grammars of as many languages as can be found on the Web. It includes all types of grammars: reference grammars, learning grammars, and historical grammars)

Links to Research Help & Bibliographic and Citation Guides:

• MLA Citation Guide,  APA Citation Guide, Chicago Citation Guide, and Kate Turabian's Guide to Citations (These sites will guide you on how to correctly prepare citations in three different styles)

• Grammar, Writing, & Bibliographic Guide (You will find links to grammar help, writing assistance, and bibliographic guides at this site).

• Plagiarism (This site contains instructions on how to avoid plagiarism and examples of paraphrasing)

• Research It! (Here is an amazing, all-encompassing research tool.  You can use its dictionary, thesaurus, translator, language identifier, acronym definer, library tools, links to US and world maps, US and Canadian telephone directory, currency converter, shipping and mailing tools, and stock market quotes)

Links to General Writing Help and Handouts:

• The Elements of Style  (This is an online copy of William Strunk's time honored volume of help for writers.  While old, it is still considered an authority.  The original was published in 1918)

• Hypertext Guide to English Grammar, Mechanics, & Usage Rules (This thorough--and huge--site will link you to any aspect of grammar, punctuation, and usage.  It also contains examples and exercises.)

• OSU's Writing Center  (This link takes you to OSU's  Writing Center and the WC's writing help hot line)

• OWL (Online Writing Lab) Handouts  (From this site you can download many, many informative wiriting handouts)

• A Web of On-Line Dictionaries (This page contains links to more than 400 dictionaries of over 130 different languages)

• Common Errors in English (This is a wonderful site that explains dozens of common English errors and contains links to other English-related issues).

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