Tools

Writing Resources and General Reference Tools

I highly recommend the following tools to assist you in your writing, whether it be psychology-related, literary, or general audience. I confess that, personally, I prefer the British style of English, not only because one of my majors was English, but because English proper originated in Britain and American English seems to me slightly more confusing and imprecise. So, several of the following resources are UK-based. For specific psychological, psychiatric, sexological, or medical dictionaries, see my List of Psychology Dictionaries, Glossaries, and Encyclopedias. For computer terms, see my Internet Help section. If you notice that any of the links don't work (or, worse yet, that any of these sites require a fee!), please send me a short note.

Accounting Terms - Accounting Dictionary - Accounting Glossary
(VentureLine)

http://www.ventureline.com/glossary
Come across an accounting term you can't understand? See the most complete accounting dictionary/glossary on the Internet.

alt.culture
http://www.altculture.com
Based on the best-selling book by Steven Daly and Nathaniel Wise (HarperCollins), this site is a cornucopia of "modern culture that spans grunge and gangsta, indie rock and indie film, cyberpunk and street fashion, extreme sports and political correctness, infomercials and zines. . .alt.culture is both a culture guide and online compass."

Amazon.ca: Earth's Largest Bookstore
http://www.amazon.ca
When you need information and reviews on a book, this is the place to go.

American English, Notes on
(Chris Burden, University of Wolverhampton)

http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html
This comprehensive document contains notes on common differences between the spelling of words in Britain, the US, and Canada. Also included are two handy lists: one with the differences in the spelling of words common in these three countries, and another with the differences in the actual usage of various common words (i.e. country-specific words ostensibly describing the same thing).

The American Heritage Book of English Usage
http://www.bartleby.com/64/
Go here when you need details on common, American, usage of individual words. Enter a word and receive entries from any or all of:

For notes on usage more common in the British style, see The Economist Style Guide and The Times Style and Usage Guide; these two guides are short and certainly not as comprehensive as The American Heritage, but they do cover the areas over which people are generally confused.

APA-Recommended Electronic Reference Formats
http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
Very handy page.

APA Style Reference Guide
(William Borst, Troy State U; Russell Dewey, Georgia Southern U;
Victoria Rinehart, SUNY Utica/Rome)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/aparev.htm
This is a quick-reference guide to common issues covered in the American Psychological Association's Guide to Style, Fourth Edition (the APA has since made modifications to APA style, but the fourth edition of the style is still widely used).

AtlaPedia
http://www.atlapedia.com
Provides full-colour physical and political maps, as well as key facts for countries around the world. Great site.

Barnes and Noble Online
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
The world's largest book retailer. Another great place to get book details and read reviews.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (from Bartleby.com)
http://www.bartleby.com/100/
"A collection of passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their sources in ancient and modern literature. This tenth edition of 1919 contains over 11,000 searchable quotations and was the first new edition of John Bartlett’s corpus to be published after his death in 1905—the new editor, however, choosing more to supplement than revise the work of the first name in quotations."

British-English Exclusion List for Microsoft Word Spelling Checker
(Eddy Elmer, Simon Fraser University)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/mssp2_en.txt
The UK English dictionary for Microsoft Word spell-checking contains some words and spellings that are not strictly British-English. Some of these words are American or Canadian-English. Word allows you to build a special "exclusion dictionary" containing these words. The next time you activate spell-checking, Word will flag any instances of the words in this dictionary. You can copy this file into the directory containing your UK English dictionary (usually c:\ program files\common files\microsoft shared\proof). This dictionary must use the same name as your UK dictionary (usually mssp2_en) and end in ".exc".

Cambridge International Dictionaries
http://dictionary.cambridge.org
This is where I go when I need the proper British spelling of words. Along with the Merriam-Webster, this is more authoritative than Dictionary.com (although the latter tends to give you a greater number of definitions because they come from multiple sources). Of course, the final authority on words is the Oxford English Dictionary, but is has no free edition. From this site, search any of the following:

If you want a dictionary that is very thoroughly hyper-linked and provides you with lists of related words and concepts (and that also allows you to browse alphabetically instead of just entering individual words), use HyperDictionary.

Campbell R. Harvey's Hypertextual Finance Glossary
(Campbell R. Harvey, Duke University)

http://www.duke.edu/~charvey/Classes/wpg/glossary.htm
With over 8,000 entries, this is the largest financial glossary on the Internet. Based on the popular hard copy book,
The New York Times Dictionary of Money and Investing (co-authored with Gretchen Morgenson).

The Canadian Encyclopedia
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com or http://www.histori.ca
"The most comprehensive and authoritative source of information on all things Canadian." Free, full-text version of the Canadian Encyclopedia (both English and French) and the Junior Encyclopedia of Canada (English only). Features an extensive timeline of Canadian and world events. Also features free full-text of selected articles from the current Maclean's magazine as well as archived articles from the past few years.

The Catholic Encyclopedia
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen
Although this large encyclopedia has a Catholic focus (ie, many of the articles relate to Catholic doctrine and and interests), it has  excellent, comprehensive articles on a wide variety of important topics of general interest. If this address does not work, go to http://www.newadvent.org and find the Encyclopedia from the main menus.

Chapters
http://www.chapters.ca
Canada's largest largest book retailer. Great site for detailed information on specific books.

CIA World Factbook
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Contains every kind of statistic you could want for a particular country (including sex ratio, HIV/AIDS rates and deaths, number of cell phones, and number of Internet users!).

Columbia Encyclopedia (from Bartleby.com)
http://www.bartleby.com/65/
"Containing nearly 51,000 entries (marshalling six and one-half million words on a vast range of topics), and with more than 80,000 hypertext cross-references, the current Sixth Edition is among the most complete and up-to-date encyclopediæ ever produced."

Columbia Gazetteer of North America (from Bartleby.com)
http://www.bartleby.com/69/
"With 50,000 entries, this most comprehensive encyclopedia of geographical places and features will prove invaluable to anyone for whom places hold fascination and who require accurate data about them. It covers every incorporated place and county in the United States, along with several thousand unincorporated places, special-purpose sites, and physical features, as well as Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. [From preface]: The Gazetteer is, in every sense, a guide to the profound changes that have taken place within North America and the Caribbean over the past half century."

Columbia World of Quotations (from Bartleby.com)
http://www.bartleby.com/66/
"The 65,000 essential quotations that constitute this authoritative collection represent the research of 154 experts. Entries from more than 5,000 authors and speakers are multiply classified into 6,500 subjects."

Creative, Lateral, Logical Thinking
(P.L. Duffy Resource Centre,
Trinity College, Perth, Western Australia)

Great collection of websites featuring articles and exercises on lateral thinking.

Critical Thinking on the Web
(Tim van Gelder)

http://www.austhink.org/critical/
Wonderful, comprehensive listing of resources designed to encourage critical thinking. Includes links to famous essays, thought-provoking articles, and amusing websites. A must-visit for writers.

Critical Thinking Mini-Lessons
(Robert T. Carroll, of The Skeptic's Dictionary)

http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/ctlessons.html
9 lessons sure to get you thinking critically: induction and deduction; the concept of validity; the Wason Card problem, parts I and II; fallacies; replication of studies; fallacy of suppressed evidence; replication revisited; and the straw man fallacy. Includes links to some good critical thinking essays.

The Devil's Dictionary
(Ambrose Bierce)

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Literature/Bierce/DevilsDictionary/
"The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881, and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. In that year a large part of it was published in covers with the title The Cynic's Word Book, a name which the author had not the power to reject or happiness to approve."

Dictionary.com
http://www.dictionary.com or http://dictionary.reference.com
Many people prefer this online dictionary to the more authoritative Cambridge or Merriam-Webster dictionaries because it's faster, easier to search, and provides entries from multiple sources. Gives you entries from many sources:

The Cambridge or Merriam-Webster dictionaries are your better bets if you also need details on grammatical usage and other more technical details; Cambridge is best if you need the proper British spelling of English words. If you want a dictionary that is very thoroughly hyper-linked and provides you with lists of related words and concepts (and that also allows you to browse alphabetically instead of just entering individual words), use HyperDictionary.

Dictionary of Financial Scam Terms
(Annie McGuire, Fraudaid.com)

http://www.fraudaid.com/Dictionary-of-Financial-Scam-Terms/
"A free on line dictionary of financial terms as they are misused by con artists to lure investors into fraudulent money making schemes. An invaluable tool for investors, law enforcement, attorneys, financial advisors, investigators, auditors, and anyone who wants to ensure that they are not the target of a smooth talker... Written by Annie McGuire, a woman caught in the web of a High-Yield Investment Program fraud for over a year, and is a no-holds-barred exposé of the ways and means of financial fraud."

Disinfopedia
(Center for Media & Democracy)

http://www.disinfopedia.org
Organised much like the popular Wikipedia general encyclopedia, Disinfopedia offers alternative, fairly left-of-center entries on terms, names, and organisations related to: media, media literacy, public relations, special interests, and more. Features:

Glossary of Doublespeak Terms
(from Disinfopedia)

http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Doublespeak
Excellent glossary of terms that are frequently used to disguise their actual meaning.

The Economist Economics Dictionary
http://www.economist.com/research/Economics
Excellent quick-reference dictionary of economic terms. If this address doesn't work go to http://www.economist.com/research.

The Economist Style Guide
http://www.economist.com/research/StyleGuide/
This online style guide is based on The Economist Style Book, given to all journalists working for The Economist magazine (UK). It provides helpful notes on mechanics (including syntax, capitalisation, punctuation, titles, and abbreviations), and style (tone, jargon, journalese, Americanisms, and metaphors). The location always moves around, but because the guide is so good, it's worth searching out at http://www.economist.com. For a much more comprehensive, although American usage guide, see The American Heritage Book of English Usage.

Editorial Slants in Major Newspapers, Magazines, and Broadcast Media
(Eddy Elmer)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/newspaper_editorial_positions.htm
A detailed chart reflecting newspapers', magazines', and other media outlets' editorial positions and slants relative to one another.

Encyclopedia.com
(from Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition)

http://www.encyclopedia.com or http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/
When I need fast access to brief articles on any topic under the sun, I look here first (well, after I look at Wikipedia)! 57,000 frequently updated articles, most with useful bibliographies as well.

Encyclopedia of Informal Education
http://www.infed.org/encyclopaedia.htm
Although this encyclopedia focusses on key ideas, practices, and thinkers in informal education and lifelong learning, it can also be used as a general resource, covering such varied topics as: adult education, Aristotle, authenticity, boys' clubs, Martin Buber, Mary carpenter and reformatory schools, Christian informal education, coffee houses, colonialism, community and communitarianism, community development, communication education, competence, crime and informal education, curfews, curriculum theory, John Dewey, Charles Dickens, educational gerontology, experiential learning, friendship, Erich Fromm, full-service schooling, Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences, girls' clubs, holistic education, Ivan Illich, Jewish informal education, Jiddu Krishnamurti, leadership, learning theory, Kurt Lewin and field theory, Karl Marx, mentoring, Lily Montagu, Maria Montessori, Plato, post-modernism, race and difference, ragged schooling, reflection, information education and residential work with adults, Carl Rogers, Rousseau, self direction, social capital, summer camps, sunday schools, supervision, tacit knowledge, theories of action, training informal educators, vocation and calling, and youth.

English-to-American Dictionary
(Chris Rae)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/BritDict.htm
This is an invaluable, not to mention highly entertaining, 300+ word dictionary of common words and phrases generally used in Britain but not the US. This version is derived from Rae's website, http://www.english2american.com. NOTE: This is a very large file.

Finance Terms for Writers: An Organizational Chart, Part 1
(Eddy Elmer)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/financ1.gif
A personal file, very much still in progress because I know nothing about finance.

Finance Terms for Writers: An Organizational Chart, Part 2
(Eddy Elmer)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/invest.gif
A personal file, very much still in progress.

Find Articles (by LookSmart)
http://www.findarticles.com
The web's largest free articles database, with 3.5 million full-text articles from over 700 major magazines, journals, newspapers, and reference volumes. Publications include:

The Advocate, American Demographics, Annual Review of Psychology, Behavioral Medicine, British Medical Journal, Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, Brown University Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update, Commonweal, Contemporary Review, Discover, Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence, Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, Harper's Magazine, HR Magazine, Humanist, Industry Week, Internet World, The Industry Standard, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Journal of General Psychology, Journal of Sex Research, Los Angeles Magazine, Mother Jones, National Review, Natural History, New Statesman, New York Observer, Psychology Today, Psychopharmacology Update, Saturday Evening Post, Sex Roles: A Journal of Sex Research, Skeptical Inquirer, and USA Today Magazine.

See also MagPortal for access to free full-text articles from other magazines.

Google Definitions (for technical terms)
http://www.google.com
In the search box, type in "define:" followed by any technical word or phrase to receive immediate definitions from multiple websites. For instance, type in "define:psychosis" and receive brief definitions from 12 different websites.

The Harper's Index (Harper's Magazine)
http://www.harpers.org/HarpersIndex.html
Each month, this world-famous index "provides a statistical snapshot of the world's economic, political, and cultural climate." I've always loved this index because the statistics are often quite unique and amusing—great additions to any written piece. Search the index all the way back to 1998.

How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com
One of my most favourite websites! If you want to find out how anything works, come here first. Hundreds of articles in the following categories explain the inner workings of virtually everything you wanted to know about: computers, automobiles, electronics, science, home, entertainment, health, money, travel, and people.

HyperDictionary
http://www.hyperdictionary.com
While the other dictionaries listed on this page are better for comprehensive and/or authority, HyperDictionary is really good for providing you with lists of related words. The 150,000 word dictionary (based on Princeton University's WordNet) also allows you to browse words alphabetically instead of just entering them as search terms.

HyperHistory Online
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html
Extensive timeline covering 3000 years of history. Brief descriptions of important dates, events, people, and places are provided (more descriptions are forthcoming as this appears to be a work-in-progress).

Information Please Almanac, Atlas, Dictionary, and Encyclopedia
http://www.infoplease.com
A great place to find facts and statistics.

Investopedia Financial Dictionary
http://www.investopedia.com
Database of over 4,500 terms investment-related terms. Search by keyword or browse through categories: acronyms, bonds, buzz words, financial theory, foreign exchange, fundamental analysis, mutual funds, new economy, options & futures, personal finance, real estate & property, retirement planning, stock trading, taxes, technical analysis, venture capital and IPOs, and world financial markets. Also features articles which cover terms in greater depth.

InvestorWords.com
http://www.investorwords.com/
With over 6,000 definitions, this is one of the most comprehensive investing glossaries on the Internet.

Literary Terms Glossary
(Robert Harris, Vanguard University of Southern California)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/litterms.htm
An excellent glossary of devices, genres, styles, etc. NOTE: This is a large file.

MagPortal
http://www.magportal.com
Free service similar to FindArticles, allows you to search for and read full-text articles from about 200 magazines. Publications include: The Advocate, The American Prospect, The Atlantic Monthly, Education Week, Humanities, Mother Jones, New Architect, Reason, Salon, Science News, Scientific American, Search Engine Watch, Skeptical Inquirer, Smithsonian, and Trial.

MapQuest Map Service
http://www.mapquest.com
Aside from offering wonderful interactive maps for areas all around the world, the service will generate directions for driving between two places. Also contains a good travel guide, with information on weather, hotels, and dining. My second stop after Yahoo Maps.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
http://www.m-w.com
When you require detailed and authoritative definitions and etymologies, the online edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition is your definitive reference (right after the Oxford English Dictionary—which has no free online version). The dictionary is American and usually does not list British or Australian forms (for that purpose, use the Cambridge dictionaries or consult the Oxford). Although the Merriam-Webster provides more detailed and more authoritative definitions, Dictionary.com provides more comprehensive definitions (because they are culled from multiple sources). If you want a dictionary that is very thoroughly hyper-linked and provides you with lists of related words and concepts (and that also allows you to browse alphabetically instead of just entering individual words), use HyperDictionary.

MyTravelGuide.com
http://www.mytravelguide.com/city-guide/
Great way to find vital information about world cities.

Newseum
http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/
Take a look at today's front page of any of 352 newspapers from around the world.

Online Philosophy Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Great quick references for your writing!

Prisoner's Dictionary
http://dictionary.prisonwall.org
A very extensive dictionary of terms used by prisoners and prison officials. Great site.

Propaganda Techniques (from Disinfopedia)
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Propaganda_techniques
Comprehensive list of rhetorical and other propaganda techniques.

Punctuation Reminders
(Robert Harris, Vanguard University of Southern California)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/punctu.htm
Another good guide.

Recommendations for Writing Comments on Student Papers
(Robert Harris, Vanguard University of Southern California)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/comments.htm
This is an intelligent and creative list of recommendations for instructors in any discipline.

Religious Tolerance.org
http://www.religioustolerance.org
Features perhaps the web's most comprehensive encyclopedia of world religions. Includes detailed articles on almost every known religion, from Asatru to Zoroastrianism, as well as relevant statistics, each religion's views on controversial social issues (including abortion and homosexuality), articles on religious tolerance and hatred, a glossary of religious terms, and much more.

Reporting on Suicide: Recommendations for the Media
(Suicide Prevention Resource Center)

http://www.afsp.org/education/recommendations/5/1.htm or http://www.sprc.org/library/sreporting.pdf
"The reporting of suicide by news media can have a strong influence on readers and viewers. At best, media can increase awareness of depression and other mental illness and inform audiences about suicide prevention; at worst, stories on suicide can communicate suicidal ideation. The imitation or copycat response depends on the type of suicide story, as well as the age of the audience. To assist journalists, recommendations on suicide reporting have been developed by a collaboration of experts" (Suicide Prevention Resource Center).

Quotations Page
http://www.quotationspage.com
The web's oldest quotations database, with over 21,000 quotations from over 2,500 authors. The fully searchable database is also indexed by author subject and features a special motivational quotations section. Use in conjunction with the other quotations databases I've listed on this page.

Quotations: Using Them Effectively
(Robert Harris, Vanguard University of Southern California)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/quotehlp.htm
This is a handy, brief guide.

Satire: The Purpose and Method
(Robert Harris, Vanguard University of California)

http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/satire.htm
I had to throw this one in just because I love satire!

Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (from Bartleby.com)
http://www.bartleby.com/63/
"With over 10,000 quotations from 4,000 sources organized into 25 categories and 60 sections, this comprehensive reference work contains words of wit and wisdom from such modern notables as Ezra Pound, Henry Kissinger, George Orwell, Dorothy Parker, and Desmond Tutu."

The Skeptic's Dictionary
(Robert T. Carroll)

http://www.skepdic.com
"Featuring nearly 400 definitions, arguments, and essays on occult topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies, The Skeptic’s Dictionary is a lively, commonsense trove of detailed information on all things supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific ... It covers such categories as alternative medicine; cryptozoology; extraterrestrials and UFOs; frauds and hoaxes; junk science (including numerous psychological concepts); New Age energy; the paranormal, and the psychic. Also covered are dozens of topics in logic and perception and science and philosophy that help explain the appeal and popularity of occult beliefs, as well as guide the reader to think critically about them." Provides biased, but critical coverage and features extensive lists of stimulating articles and resources, especially on critical thinking. The dictionary is also available in print format.

Statistics Every Writer Should Know
(Robert Niles)

http://nilesonline.com/stats or http://www.robertniles.com/stats
In plain-English style, Niles presents useful introductory lessons on basic statistical concepts for journalists and writers who wish to develop some competence in critically analysing their data. Covered are normal distribution, central tendency, standard deviation, confidence interval and margin of error, sampling, and data analysis. Also included is a message board on which visitors can ask one another questions on statistics, as well as lists of recommended reading.

Thesaurus.com
http://www.thesaurus.com or http://thesaurus.reference.com
17,000 entries from the Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus. Each entry includes a brief definition, synonyms, antonyms, and the general concept underlying the words in the entry.

The Times Style and Usage Guide
(The Times of London)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,2941,00.html
"Aims to provide a quick reference for readers to the everyday pitfalls of English grammar, spelling and names of people and organisations. It was designed originally as a guide for Times journalists, to help them through the most frequently recurring problems in writing with speed and accuracy for a daily newspaper. The guide is not designed to be an all-embracing thesaurus; some of the spellings are a matter of preference for The Times and the alternatives are not necessarily wrong. Besides the main alphabetical list of entries, there are seven additional specialist sections on the Armed Forces, the Arts, the Churches, the Courts, Politics, Sport and Titles; and the most recent entries appear in a What's New section." For a much more comprehensive, although American usage guide, see The American Heritage Book of English Usage.

Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com
An extensive slang dictionary.

Urban Legends Archive
http://www.urbanlegends.com
An extensive archive of urban legends—a most peculiar social psychological phenomenon. Includes FAQs and lists of resources on the topic.

Urban Legends Reference Pages
(Barbara and David P. Mikkelson)

http://www.snopes.com
Another comprehensive urban legends site. Features an excellent glossary.

Wikipedia Encyclopedia
http://www.wikipedia.org
The world's largest free and open-source general information encyclopedia with nearly 400,000 English-language articles. The first place I go when I need information on any topic (after that, I head to Encyclopedia.com).

Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age
(Wired Magazine)

http://hotwired.wired.com/hardwired/wiredstyle/
"How can we write about machines without losing a sense of humanity and poetry?" The writers and editors of Wired magazine created this guide as a reference for those writing specifically about technology and the digital age. Contains notes on a wide range of grammatical and stylistic issues confronted over the years by Wired's copy editors.

WordNet 2.0
(Princeton University)

http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/
"WordNet® is an online lexical reference system whose design is inspired by current psycholinguistic theories of human lexical memory. English nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are organized into synonym sets, each representing one underlying lexical concept. Different relations link the synonym sets." Search the dictionary.

World Factbook (from Bartleby.com)
http://www.bartleby.com/151/
"The U.S. government’s complete geographical handbook, featuring 267 full-color maps and flags of all nations and geographical entities. Each country profile tracks such demographics as population, ethnicity and literacy rates, as well as political, geographical and economic data."

Yahoo Maps and Driving Directions
http://maps.yahoo.com
A traveling writer's Godsend. Along with MapQuest, this site quickly tells you how to get from point A to B.

Other Writing Resources and Tools

OTHER TOOLS:

[ Eddy's Quick-Reference Psychology Guides ]

[ Psychology Dictionaries, Glossaries, and Encyclopedias ]

[ Online Psychological Tests ]

[ Online Psychology Demonstrations and Tools ]

[ Online Statistical Tools and Demonstrations ]

Copyright © 2005, by Eddy M. Elmer

Permanent URL: http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/writing.htm