Here are some links to help you learn about proofreading. You can also watch a 10-min video presentation about proofreading (editing) techniques.
Proofreading and Grammar
- UNC Writing Center’s handout on Editing and Proofreading.
- Purdue University’s excellent Online Writing Lab (OWL) (including practice exercises and a handout on proofreading)
Online Learners Dictionaries
- The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
- Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
- Cambridge Dictionaries Online
- Merriam Webster’s Learners Dictionary
Concordances and Corpus Searching (is my sentence natural in English?):
- Data-Driven Learning Materials
- Corpus of Contemporary American English
- British National Corpus
- Collins Concordance Sampler
- Lexical Tutor: List Learning resources
Paper Dictionaries (etc) I like:
- Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of American English — finally in a U.S. edition, the OALD is impressive for its scope, research background, and new list of the essential 3000 words of English (the Oxford 3000).
- Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary of American English — the first U.S. edition of this very influential learner’s dictionary. I really like this book — it has lots of examples, usage notes, and thesaurus notes.
- The Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus — an unusual but useful reference: combines a thesaurus (synonyms) with definitions, lots of information about correct usage, and collocations (words/phrases that go together). Comes with a CD-ROM for your computer.
- The learners dictionaries from Oxford and Cambridge are also very good.
Grammar Websites:
- Purdue University Online Writing Center http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
- UNC Writing Center’s ESL handouts: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/esl/esl.html
- Ohio University Writing Center http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/english/writing/index.html
- UsingEnglish.com: Excellent source for idioms and phrasal verbs! http://www.usingenglish.com/
- EnglishClub.com: links to numerous quizzes http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/index.htm
- BBC Learning English: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/
Please suggest your own favorite websites and resources. Leave a comment below!
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