This list is based at the Centre for Social Sciences - Psychology of Athabasca
University in Athabasca, Alberta, Canada.
These writing resources should be helpful to students in writing essays,
preparing other kinds of written assignments and developing skills
of self-expression. Although we have included several resources specific
to psychology, most of these are of general use in all disciplines.
- APA Publication Manual FAQs
- Frequently asked questions about the rules for writing in APA style.
- APA Style Resources
- APA style quick answers and resources.
- Common Errors in English
- Paul Brians, professor of English at Washington State University, has
prepared an impressive list of errors in English usage and spelling.
- DeVry Online Writing Support Center
- The emphasis at this site is writing for the internet, including email
and composition for the web.
- Developing Study Skills
- "These notes were first developed by Val Smith a tutor at Leeds University
for a distance learning course run for the Transport and General
Workers Union. They have been revised for use at Athabasca and have
benefitted from comments made by colleagues Lois Hamiester,
Carol Shafer and Jeff Taylor." This material, organized by Dr. Bruce
Spencer at Athabasca University, includes a section on essay
writing. It is especially well-suited to distance learners.
- Dr. NAD's prig page
- Dr. NAD is an unapologetic prig who clings tightly to the rules
of English grammar. An online test will determine if you are a prig.
- Grammar and Style Notes
- Jack Lynch's alphabetically organized guide that provides many rules for correct usage and appropriate style.
- Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization
- Provides rules for many different types of grammar, punctuation,
- Guide To Electronic and Print Resources For Journalists
- Site has many links useful for mass-media writers including writing resources that have a journalistic focus.
- Guide to Grammar and Writing
- Professor Charles Darling's page has a convenient interface called the
ASK GRAMMAR form.
- This site is a grammar course taught at the University of Ottawa and covers
the following topics: The parts of speech, the parts of the sentence,
punctuation, using pronouns, using verbs, modifiers, building phrases,
building clauses, building sentences, writing paragraphs, diction and
- Non-Sexist Language
- Carolyn Jacobson's page includes material on the history of
sexist language and suggestions for non-sexist writing.
- OWL Handouts in Outline Form
- "This site lists over 100 handouts available on the following major
categories, many of which are subdivided": General writing concerns,
writing research papers and citing sources, writing in the job search,
professional writing, English as a second language, parts of speech,
sentence construction, punctuation and spelling.
- On-Line English Grammar
- Online guide covers the parts of speech thoroughly and has a searchable
- Paradigm Online Writing Assistant
- Covers a wide range of topics in writing including discovering what to
write, organizing your writing, revising your writing, editing your
writing, documenting sources,
writing informal essays, writing thesis/support essays,
writing exploratory essays, and writing argumentative essays.
- Phrase Finder
- "The Phrase Finder does for phrases what a thesaurus does for words.
Give it a single word and it will give you a list of phrases and
sayings that are related to the word in some way."
- Preparing your Laboratory Report
- Jan Kennedy's guidelines for writing
psychology laboratory reports include helpful checklists for tables and
- Strunk, William. 1918. The Elements of Style
- This timeless classic in the field of writing is now in the public
domain and available online.
- THOR+: The Virtual Reference Desk
- The library at Purdue University has an excellent collection of online
- Technical Writing @ The Mining Company
- The emphasis here is on writing WWW documents.
- Vocabulary Development
- "This advanced English-language site is here as a guide by your
side so you can experience the wonder of words and
the English language. As distance learners (of all ages), you can enjoy
words and their fascinating histories and enhance your
English-language skills. Over the months ahead, we'll take you through
a series of word activities based mostly on Latin and Greek elements,
which exist in English, and the etymological meanings and histories of
thousands of words that have merged with our vast English vocabulary."
- Web Extension to APA Style
- The American Psychological Association's specifications for
citing electronic sources.
- Word Detective
- "The Word Detective on the Web is the online version of
The Word Detective, a newspaper column answering readers' questions
about words and language. The Word Detective is written by Evan
Morris and appears in newspapers in the U.S., Mexico and Japan."