Writing Resources

Resources by Topic

Dictionaries, thesauri, grammar & punctuation, and helps for writing research papers.

American Heritage Dictionary (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. ): General dictionary of words in the English language. Includes recordings of pronunciations, idioms and slang, and technical terms.
Collins English Dictionary (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. ): Definitions and usage examples for over 18,500 words.
OneLook Dictionary (http://www.onelook.com/): More than 5 million words from over 900 online dictionaries.
Online Etymology Dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com/): Online dictionary of word origins. Compiled from nearly 40 dictionaries, handbooks and other reference sources.
Penguin English Dictionary (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. ): Definitions of standard English, scientific and technical, slang and early English words.

EasyWriter 4th ed. (http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/easywriter ): Manual includes grammar, citation formatting, design, and tips on writing well.

Common Errors in English (http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html): Explanations of commonly misused words in the English language. Online version of the book by Paul Brians.
Good Word Guide (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. ): Pratical guide to spelling, punctuation, grammar, jargon, and buzz words.
Guide to Grammar & Writing (http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index2.htm): A comprehensive guide to grammar including word usage, sentence and paragraph structure, and essay format.
Guide to Integrating Quotations in APA style (Seneca Libraries) (): Information on how to quote, do quotes exempting some information, and paraphrase. Includes examples.

Copyright & Fair Use (http://fairuse.stanford.edu/): Resources include guides, an overview, current legislation and library sites on copyright. Stanford University site.
Copyright: Books in the CU Collection (): List of works about copyright issues.
Plagiarism Defined (http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml): Describes how students can avoid plagiarism and gives examples of acceptable and unacceptable paraphrasing.
Plagiarism Video Tutorial (http://library.camden.rutgers.edu/EducationalModule/Plagiarism/): A three part lesson on how to avoid plagiarism, prepared by librarians at the Paul Robeson Library, Rutgers University. Takes approximately ten minutes to complete.
Plagiarism: Books in the CU Collection (): List of works about plagiarism and intellectual property.
U.S. Copyright Office (http://www.copyright.gov/): Copyright basics and how to register a work
What Is Copyright Protection? (http://www.whatiscopyright.org/): Discusses what copyright protection is and the major areas that can be covered. The main focus is copyright and the Internet.

Bloomsbury Thesaurus (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. ): More than 13,000 entries for synonyms, alternative words and cross-references.
OneLook Reverse Dictionary (http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary.shtml ): Put in concepts for a list of words that correspond to it.
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus (For CU faculty, staff, and students only. Must log in through CU Intranet. ): All synonym entries appear in one alphabetical list. Every synonym is defined.

Planning and Writing a Research Paper (http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html): A guide to researching, outlining and writing a research paper. (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
The Seven Steps of the Research Process (http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill1.htm): Outlines an effective strategy for developing a research paper. (Cornell University)
Writing - Citations (http://www.cu-portland.edu/library/subject_guides/topic_guide.cfm?TopicID=31): Subject Guide for resources for ALA, MLA, Chicago and Turabian styles.
Writing Center at Concordia University (http://www.cu-portland.edu/writing_center/): Get writing assistance from a peer tutor.