English Usage, Grammar, and Style

A Brief History of English Usage - From Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.

Linguistic Prescription: Wikipedia - The Wikipedia's article on usage issues.

Prescriptive versus Descriptive Grammar - From an online introduction to generative grammar.

Strunk and White's famous "Elements of Style" has proved enormously popular in the United States, but has never gained quite the same credibility elsewhere. Linguist Geoffrey Pullum is singularly unimpressed. Here is an article he wrote in the Chronicle of Higher Learning where he puts the alternative view of Strunk and White's efforts:

50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice

Geoffrey Pullum's attack has led to a lot of controversy, and many feel it is too harsh. The "Grammar Girl" column hosted by Mignon Fogarty supports much of Pullum's argument but contends the real problem is not with the content of Strunk and White, but the "hallowed status" it has been afforded by so many writers. Fogarty points out that Strunk himself in his introduction to the book does not lay claim to it being a firm set of rules so much as a guide based on one man's opinion.

Click here to read Grammar Girl's Column

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The American Heritage Book of English Usage - Subtitiled: "A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English", this is a leading usage manual searchable by word and subject. A unique feature is the "Usage Panel", a group of prominent and successful people whose work involves writing or speaking effectively, whose opinions are polled about disputed areas of usage.

The Elements of Style - The 1979 revision of a famous manual. A copy of the original 1918 version is available here, Wikipedia describes the Elements of Style as "one of the most influential and best-known prescriptive treatments of English grammar and usage in the United States" (Wikipedia Article here).

The Complete Plain Words - A writer's guide by Sir Ernest Gowers that was first published in 1954. The book was comissioned from Fowler by the British Treasury in an attempt to improve official English. While essentially a style guide, there is one chapter on aspects of grammar and another on punctuation.

The King's English: H. W. Fowler - A book, published in 1908, that has been overshadowed by Fowler's later A Dictionary of Modern English Usage. Structured as essays on aspects of style and usage it covers fewer topics than the later book but covers them in more detail. Although dated and heavy going for the modern reader, it is still in print and well worth the effort for those interested in usage.

GRAMMAR HELP ONLINE

Ask Oxford: Better Writing - The Ask Oxford Better Writing section includes spelling and grammar tips, letter writing, and other advice for both the intemediate level and the more experienced writer.

Guide to Grammar and Style - "These notes are a miscellany of grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and suggestions on usage I put together for my classes." By Jack Lynch, Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University.

The Good Grammar, Good StyleTM Pages - Many useful articles and frequently asked questions.

Grammar Girl - A series of articles about grammar and English usage.

English Usage Newsgroup - The homepage for the alt-usage-english newsgroup. There is information about English Usage and instructions about how to join newsgroups.

BCC Writing Lab Virtual Tutor - Submit questions about grammar, punctuation, word usage, and the English language to the writing lab at Bellvue Community College, Bellevue, WA.

Ask the Grammar Maven - A service from the Central Michigan University Department of English Language & Literature. Good-humored advice on grammar questions.OWL Online Writing Lab: Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling Handouts, exercises, and powerpoint presentations.

Road to Grammar - Grammar tests and exercises for ESL students.

Grammar Bytes! - A Grammar page with attitude.

Dr. Grammar - An effort by the late Professor James HiDuke, billed as "Your Rx for writing ills."

Guide to Grammar & Writing - Founded by the late Dr. Charles Darling, an English professor and grammarphile.

Online English Grammar - Reference and guide for English grammar, writing, punctuation and learning.

The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing - A guide broken-down into the following categories: Thinking, Style, Structure, and Mechanics. Useful for college students and anyone else needing to write clear and effective English.

The University of Victoria Writer's Guide - Covers a wide range of topics involving grammar, logic, puntuation, and style.

The Economist Style Guide - Based on the style book given to journalists at The Economist.

The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ - The manuscript editing department of the University of Chicago Press answers questions about writing style and manuscript preparation.