Proofreading and Grammar Help

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

1. UNC Writing Center’s handout on Editing and Proofreading.
2. Purdue University’s excellent Online Writing Lab (OWL) (including practice exercises and a handout on proofreading)

Online Learners Dictionaries

1. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
2. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary
3. Cambridge Dictionaries Online
4. Merriam Webster’s Learners Dictionary

Concordances and Corpus Searching (is my sentence natural in English?):

(for an introduction to using a corpus for language learning, please watch my UNC videos on using corpora)

1. Data-Driven Learning Materials
2. Corpus of Contemporary American English
3. British National Corpus
4. Collins Concordance Sampler
5. Lexical Tutor: List Learning resources (Internet Explorer only)

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/
• BBC Grammar Challenge (podcast)
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/gc

Coming Soon … my own grammar textbook for graduate students and research writers, from the University of Michigan Press. Watch the blog for details!

Please suggest your own favorite websites and resources. Leave a comment below!