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Ten essential reference sites for writers

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Here are ten reference sites that everybody needs to bookmark:

  1. The Taxonomy of Logical Fallacies
  2. A Handbook of rhetorical devices
  3. Data Visualization: Modern Approaches
  4. MBA in a Page (hat tip to Guy Kawasaki)
  5. Top 1,000 Web 2.0 sites (probably most useful for geeks like me)
  6. Refdesk.com
  7. Word spy – a dictionary of neologisms
  8. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab – grammar and writing guidelines
  9. Economist Style Guide online
  10. Wikipedia. I’m against using it as a primary source but it’s a great place to start your research

Any other suggestions? Essential reference sites?

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9 Responses to Ten essential reference sites for writers

  1. Janet August 23, 2007 at 3:08 pm #

    I find OneLook very helpful for jargon or specialized vocabulary — things that aren’t in a standard dictionary, but are probably defined somewhere on the web, if only I knew where to look. One advantage over Google’s “define:” operator is that it categorizes the references, so I can choose, say, the medical meaning of a term, not the plumbing meaning.

    Reply
  2. --Deb October 23, 2007 at 1:53 am #

    Great links–thanks! I love to read what other people have to say about language.

    Reply
  3. Neil Kay-jones December 5, 2007 at 11:12 am #

    Hi Matthew,

    After a great meeting last night with the techie guys of Yuuguu in the Devere Park Hotel, I realised how much i wanted to be a part of their journey. Having taken a look at the Top 1,000 Web 2.0 sites link, they are clearly not on there. I hopefully will be joining Yuuguu to interact with their existing user base and drive marketing for new users. We are presenting at the Macworld 5 day event in San Francisco, and will be on Mac’s preferred list of must see exhibitors. Anyway, take a look at http://www.Yuuguu.com if you have not done already and it would be great to hear you thoughts.

    Reply
  4. Cityscribbler November 26, 2008 at 5:04 pm #

    Hi Matthew

    This is not an online reference, but I love it – factually bang up to date, peppered with priceless quotes (eg Stella Gibbons: “The life of a journalist is poor, nasty, brutish and short. So is his style.”) and beautifully laid out. You can get it from http://www.guardianbooks.co.uk.

    Reply

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