Writing Resources

Luckily for us, writing resources are a mainstay of most college websites. You can find answers to almost any question -- even the peskiest grammar conundrum --  if you look online long enough. 

If your text is sloppy or incorrect, your credibility will suffer. You want your handouts or summaries to enhance your professional image so be sure you take the time to follow the rules of good business writing.  If you are uncertain about a word usage, punctuation or grammar, check the excellent websites devoted to the fundamentals of English. 

A misplaced comma or misspelled word can cost you plenty in terms of professional image and business relationships.

How writing resources can help your writing be more professional

You want your message to be clear, concise, correct and cohesive. Spellcheckers will not catch words you misuse or typos that create another word.  Remember, the difference between Not and Now is a missed keystroke. But the difference in meaning between the two is a chasm as wide as the ocean.   

Favorite writing resources

Guide to grammar  from Capital Community College Foundation in Connecticut. This is a great site for answering specific grammar or usage questions.

Guide to confusing words  If you have problems remembering the difference between affect and effect or similar English words, this guide from the Writing Center at the University of Richmond will help.

Writing styles and tips for  adopting a professional tone can be found at the famous OWL site -- the Online Writing Lab -- at Purdue University. This is a good place to find style guides for formatting business documents.

Hamilton College's Seven Deadly Sins of Writing is a useful reminder to all that if we get careless, our writing suffers whether we are doing a business presentation or writing the next New York Times bestseller.

The graphical dictionary by Visuwords displays synonyms and helps the discerning writer see the nuances of words in a visual thesaurus. A great tool for those who are visual learners.

The Writers Write website has a great blog on writing in plain language.  The test? Is your writing readable for those whose native language is not English. If you write using plain language rules, it will be.

If you need a review of what you learned in fifth grade English, check out this blog of Daily Grammar Lessons. The blog reviews parts of speech and sentence structure with quizzes that take you back to your elementary school days.

No list of grammar and writing would be complete without reference to the plucky Grammar Girl site. Migon Fogarty, who goes by the more easily remembered Grammar Girl, is precise and humorous without being so fastidious.

And if you want to connect with other writers to get inspiration, commiserate or just find out what other writers are doing, check out writing.com.