Study Resources For Business Communication

Use these resources to access online writing centres, documentation style guides,
dictionaries, and encyclopedias.

• Online Writing Labs and Centres
• Documentation/Citation Style Guides
• Online Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

ONLINE WRITING LABS AND CENTRES

1. The University of Toronto's Writing Resources for Engineers and Technical Writers
   Offers useful information on technical writing, as well as links to various sites related to scientific and technical writing.

• Giving a Talk
• Communication: How to Handle a Telephone Interview
• Résumés
• Writing a Great Cover Letter
• Job Interviews
• Oral Presentation Skills
  

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/
http://tls.utsc.utoronto.ca/TWC/index.htm
http://www.fauxpress.com/kimball/w/logo.htm
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/

2. Western Ontario Online Writing Lab
   Offers an online writing lab that provides interactive, self-correcting tutorials in grammar and punctuation.

• Writing Resources on the Web
• Grammar and Punctuation Lab
• Handouts
• Academic Writing Tasks
• Academic Style
• Grammar and Punctuation
  

Associated Sub-site
http://www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/Documentation.html

3. HyperGrammar - University of Ottawa
   Electronic grammar resource, with grammatical terms marked as hypertext links the first time they appear.

• The Parts of Speech
• The Parts of the Sentence
• Punctuation
• Using Pronouns
• Using Verbs
• Modifiers
• Building Phrases
• Building Clauses
• Building Sentences
• Writing Paragraphs
• Diction
• Spelling
• Miscellaneous Topics
  

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.edunet.com/english/grammar/index.cfm
http://www.andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/

4. The University of Victoria's Hypertext Writer's Guide
   Provides an introduction to the process of writing and literature. Aspects of writing that are of use to business communication are noted below

• Essays
• Paragraphs
• Sentences
• Words
• Documentation
• Summaries
• Logic
• Grammar
• Marking Symbols and Grades
  

Associated Sub-sites
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

5. University of Calgary English Department Grammar Tutorial
   Provides online tutorials on parts of speech, sentence elements, punctuation, and word use.

• Parts of Speech
• Sentence Elements
• Punctuation
• Word Use
  

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.school-for-champions.com/writing.htm#Technical Writing
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/

DOCUMENTATION / CITATION STYLE GUIDES

1. Electronic Sources for Modern Language Association (MLA) Style
   Provide guidelines for documenting information from electronic sources.

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/citation/index.cfm
http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/guide/
sources.htm#electronic
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_docelectric.html

Provides research tools and directories for students in the social sciences.

• Information for Psychologists
• Information for the Public
• Information for Students
  

2. Electronic Sources: American Psychological Association APA Style of Citation
   Provides official American Psychological Association documentation guidelines for
   citing information from electronic sources.

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/works_cited.htm

3. Chicago Style Guide
   Provides Chicago Manual of Style documentation guidelines for citing information
   from text-based or electronic sources.

ONLINE DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPAEDIAS

Research It! Directory
Provides directories of online dictionaries, encyclopaedias, translators, and maps.

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.m-w.com
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

The UVic Writer's Guide: Canadian/English/American Spelling
Provides information on topics about spelling and word usage.

Associated Sub-sites
http://web.uvic.ca/wguide/Pages/DictionUsageToc.html
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
http://www.onelook.com/
Clarifies distinctions between British and American spelling.

English-French Dictionary Project
Converts words from English to French and vice versa.

Associated Sub-sites
http://french-linguistics.co.uk/dictionary/
http://lookwayup.com/free/FrenchEnglishDictionary.htm

Truly Canadian Dictionary of Canadian Spelling
Provides alphabetical listing that compares Canadian and American spellings.

Associated Sub-sites
http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/britishcanadianamericanvocab.html

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Provides an online reference to the information of Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Associated Sub-sites
http://www.encyclopedia.com
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/start.htm
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/
http://encarta.msn.com/
Provides topographic information on Canadian geographical names by latitude, longitude, or geographical name.

Authored by Pantelli Tritchew
Revised by John Iveson