Writing and Language Links: a path you follow
Developed and Maintained by Dr. Sean Meehan/English Department/Morningside College
[Annie Dillard/ Read an interview with Dillard (source for image): http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxii/10.4.96/ae/dillard.html]
Annie Dillard (one of my favorite writers) begins The Writing Life (Harper, 1989) with this thoughtful paragraph.
When you write you lay out a line of words. The line of words is a miner's pick, a woodcarver's gouge, a surgeon's probe. You wield it, and it digs a path you follow. Soon you find yourself deep in new territory. Is it a dead end, or have you located the real subject? You will know tomorrow, or this time next year.
We can now add to her line of metaphors the hyperlink. When you write, you search your territory as a good writer can search the web: following the links that offer a path to follow--and whether it yields a dead end or the real subject is a matter of your patience as well as your craft.
What follows are links for writers to follow, with craft and with patience, in the process of laying out and following the lines of their writing. These are links that I have visited and vetted as much as possible--either located by me or suggested to me by my students at Morningside College.
Site that helps you format citation information for MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. Plug information in and it will produce the correct format.
[http://citationmachine.net/index.php?new_style=x#here]
A Washington State University Professor of English who has developed a site (and a book) for help with errors in English we are all familiar with. Note: ending a sentence with a preposition is not one of them--see his page on Non-errors for more information. I suggest you begin to keep track of and work on 10 errors that you tend to make, learn about the errors and how you might improve upon them.
[http://www.wsu.edu/%7Ebrians/errors/errors.html]
Companion site for the PBS documentary, focusing on varieties of American English, curriculum resources and links. Especially good for regional variation of spoken English
A useful site maintained by Widener University Library, offering strategies for evaluating different kinds of web sites as resources for information.
[http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/webpicks/weblist/weblist.htm]
Fields of Reading: Motives for Writing
Site linked to the Fields of Reading text (for my Writing to Persuade/English 211 course) that offers links and resources for a variety of topics for writing.
[http://bedfordstmartins.com/toplinks/index.asp?book=frc&book_id=93]
An extensive site developed by Capital Community College Foundation (Hartford, CT), with many resources useful for developing your writing skills and styles. The focus on grammar throughout includes useful quizzes; sections on citation, plagiarism, power point. A site worth visiting at all points of the writing process to expand your rhetorical reach.
[http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/]
History of the English Language
Links and resources for studying the history of English, from linguistic professor at Virginia Tech, Daniel Mosser.
[http://ebbs.english.vt.edu/hel/hel.html]
A timeline and map of the English language and its Indo-European origins.
[http://www.danshort.com/ie/timeline.htm]
Discussion of what hypertext is, from the Journal of Electronic Publishing.
[http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/06-03/McAdams/pages/]
Listing of links to hypertext fiction, much of it available on the web.
[http://www.duke.edu/~mshumate/hyperfic.html]
The "Ask a Linguist" site that includes many links/resources for studying language as well as the option to pose a question to a professional linguist about language and receive a reply.
[http://www.linguistlist.org/ask-ling/]
Links for the library catalog, online databases and internet resources. A good place to begin web-based research. Don't forget to follow up in person; the librarians are research experts.
[http://library.morningside.edu/]
Links to an extensive listing of online dictionaries and other language reference guides in English and other languages.
[http://www.yourdictionary.com/]
Interviews with writers at work, about their writing, since the 1950s. A great resource to learn about contemporary writers and their views on the craft of writing.
[http://parisreview.org/literature.php]
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Purdue's writing center online, with extensive resources for writers, including grammar, citation format, practice exercises, and internet resources.
[http://owl.english.purdue.edu/]
Revision (and Editing) Strategies
A Description of Revision and Editing strategies, explaining the differences (in my view) between the revision and editing stages of the writing process. Written by yours truly, Sean Meehan.
A handbook (with definitions and examples) of classic rhetorical devices (from analogy to zeugma) that writers have been using for centuries to create engaging and persuasive writing. Something to add to your repertoire of writing strategies.
[http://www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric.htm]
Speaking Center at Hampden-Sydney College
Offers tips and tools for speech and oral presentation skills.
[http://people.hsc.edu/faculty-staff/cdeal/]
Resources and links from the U of Minnesota Center for Writing, including pedagogical discussion of assessment.
[http://writing.umn.edu/tww/index.htm]
Online resources and references for the study of language, including dictionaries.
[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/wow/]
A gateway site for college writers developed by Paradise Valley Community College in Arizona--page has numerous links to writing resources and sites available on the web. A good place to start a search.
[http://www.pvc.maricopa.edu/%7Ebutler/]
[wide world home] [morningside college home]
[american literature] [english education] [writing]
Site developed and maintained by Sean Meehan, Ph.D.
Department of English /Morningside College /1501 Morningside Ave. /Sioux City, IA 51106
SIOUX CITY
The Morningside College Experience cultivates a passion for life-long learning
and a dedication to ethical leadership and civic responsibility
Last Updated: 09/24/2007