Here is a web page worth bookmarking: 150 Resources to Help You Write Better, Faster, and More Persuasively, brought to us by the Open Education Database. I haven’t had time to check out all the resources linked to, but at first glance, it appears to include many resources that I have used and some blogs that I subscribe to.
Need a dictionary?
30 December 2012
Over at Daily Writing Tips, Mark Nichol has links to six on-line dictionaries with descriptions of each one’s offerings. I’ve used two that he links to: Merriam-Webster and the Free Dictionary. I especially like the latter’s home page because it has links to specialized dictionaries.
Search 49 style guides at once ...
10 May 2010
150 resources
19 November 2007
Our tag line here is “A collection of resources for lawyers and other writers.” With that in mind, here is the Online Education Database’s collection of 150 resources to help you write better, faster, and more persuasively. Categories include almanacs, business and legal matters, citation styles, dictionaries, English-language skills, rhetoric, writing skills, and writing software.
Hat tip to Anastasia.
Visuwords
07 November 2007
If you’re looking for an ice-cool on-line dictionary and thesaurus, give the Visuwords on-line graphic dictionary a spin. Among other things, it produces “diagrams reminiscent of a neural net” to show associations between words. When you hover your pointer over a word, it displays the word’s definition. Whether or not you find it useful, you’ll have fun playing with it. (Hat tip to Ken Davis.)
As with any thesaurus, please use it judiciously. No elegant variation, please.
A lesson from baseball
30 October 2007
I feel bad when I lose an appeal. If you feel the same way, consider this reflection by Stephen Seckler, posted at Counsel to Counsel, about lessons learned from baseball:
Baseball teaches us that losing is the norm. A batter who gets a hit one out of every three times he is up at the plate is considered a superstar. A team that wins ten games in a row is on fire. Winners are not individuals who “win” all the time. Winners are individuals who know how to get past failure.
Abbr.
06 August 2007
Novalawcity has a collection of web-sites with exhaustive lists of legal abbreviations. (Hat tip to Jim Calloway.)
Civil Law Dictionary wiki
09 March 2007
Vicenç Feliú; Foreign, Comparative and International Law Librarian at the LSU Law Center, is overseeing a Civil Law Dictionary wiki. Civil law is the legal system observed in Louisiana, continental Europe, and many other jurisdictions. Common law, on the other hand, is the legal system observed in England and the United States (excluding Louisiana). If the Civil Law Dictionary wiki is successful, it will help folks who need to translate civil-law terms into common law, and vice-versa.
If you’d like to join the community of editors for the Civil Law Dictionary wiki, follow these instructions.
(Hat tip to beSpacific.)
Garbl's Writing Center
13 May 2006
Garbl's Writing Center is an impressive collection of on-line resources for writers. Besides collecting links to resources all over the Web, it contains its own style manual and concise-writing guide. It's maintained by Gary B. Larson, who says that GWC "reflects my commitment to my growth, to clear, concise, and useful writing and to helping others improve their writing. I believe the Internet, used responsibly, has the power and potential to enhance our communication and citizen action."
Warning: GWC includes some political messages, especially on the home page, with which you may agree or disagree. Gary is an unapologetic lefty, and uses GWC to advertise his views in strong language. He says, "I support liberal, progressive candidates, campaigns and causes: peace and disarmament, environmental protection, public education, public transportation, economic opportunity, and civil, equal and human rights." He's not a fan of the current administration.
Urban Dictionary
03 April 2006
Here's a resource to help you translate current slang into standard English. The Urban Dictionary bills itself as "a living catalog of human interaction and popular culture created by hundreds of thousands of people, and read by millions." Like Wikipedia, it's written and edited by its readers. It offers Urban Word of the Day, which you can receive by e-mail or RSS feed.
(Hat tip to Triangle Grammar Guide.)