Writing and Citation
As an academic, I can well appreciate the importance of citation and writing styles. Still I made it though 5 years of University with nothing but my trusty MLA (Modern Language Association) style. It was thus a bit unnerving that upon coming to Library school, I was suddenly asked for everything in APA (American Psychological Association) format. Realizing that I’ll probably have to explain, even teach writing and citation someday, I threw myself into learning this new style. Purdue’s Online Writing Lab has been an invaluable resource for me.
The site contains numerous topics relating to writing and citation (academic and technical writing in particular but there is also a brief section on creative writing). In fact, where professional writing styles are concerned, I’d even venture to call it comprehensive. The information is well organized, with clear subsections relating to things such as grammar, citation, the writing process, teaching writing, job searches, etc. Their concern with integrity and etiquette is quite refreshing.
OWL’s descriptions are clear and with good examples. Each page is brief and to the point, clearly guiding the reader to other relevant information on a topic. The information offered is appropriate for both novices and experts.
It is a good site that is reliable and easy to navigate. It is perfect for a quick refresher or for learning a new style.
Be sure to answer their survey to further improve their services!
Behind the Name
This is my favorite names database; I use it for all my writing. It has fairly sophisticated search options: you can search alphabetically, by country of origin, by meaning, and by name. You can limit results by gender. They offer a very broad range of countries to search through.
There are some other fun features such as random name generators, anagram names, names for twins and thematic names. They list namesakes, name days and lists of most popular names. There is also a name translator which will convert the name of your choice into a number of other languages.
I’d like to point out some bad features but I really am quite fond of this page.The content is helpful, the design is simple but attractive and they update frequently. They even allow user input through their message boards and polls.
Behind the Name has a sister site known as Behind the Surname but while it functions in the same way I find myself less impressed with it. Perhaps I’m just bitter because none of the surnames in my family are in the database. But that’s what the message boards are for, I suppose.
Thieves Cant
I found this page while doing some research for my writing. It is a basic dictionary of the slang used by thieves in the 18th and 19th century. It’s hardly comprehensive but it does give a feeling for the language.
The site isn’t very impressive graphically, nor does it have any search functions above what your browser can offer you but it’s easy to use and very interesting. Be careful when using the English to Cant section, however, as it puts together words, without explanation that have significant differences in the Cant to English section. For example, mad Tom is listed under beggar with no further clarification but if you look it up in the Cant to English section, you will find that it’s a “beggar who feigns madness”.
It’s a lot of fun and useful in certain contexts.
The Canting Dictionary [thieving slang], 1736 and The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue have more words but they are impossible to search effectively. For one there is no English to Cant so you need to know the word in Thieves Cant to look it up. The navigation is also somewhat awkward and it allows no searching whatsoever, only browsing.
Back from the holidays
Jim Breen’s Japanese Dictionary
This website was a godsend to me while I was studying Japanese as an undergrad. You can search for Japanese words in roman script or in kana and kanji or search for English words. It also includes a kanji dictionary which can be searched by meaning, reading, stroke number and radical. It also allows you to input whole sentences in Japanese for translation (although it translates the individual words and like most online translators has little to no understanding of the grammar).
This is probably the best freely- available Japanese dictionary and many of the others are based on it. It’s good for beginners and experts.
Google Guide
As most people use Google for the majority of their searches, I thought that my first post should be about this tool. It has its limitations (natural language searching being high among them) but it also has many features that most people aren’t aware of. Google Guide is an incredibly useful reference for making the most of Google. It could be a little long to read in a single sitting but it’s well indexed and easy to navigate so that you can go directly to the section that interests you. I would recommend at least looking at their Cheat Sheet and Calculator Cheat Sheet which have quick lists of the different operators you can use in Google and what they do.
