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LOCATING ONLINE BOOKS If you need to find an online version of a book, any of these three sites will be a good place to start. Project Gutenbgerg began in 1971, when Michael Hart decided that significant texts ought to be made available to everyone. Today Project Gutenberg will link you to thousands of texts in the public domain. According to the site itself, Project Gutenberg publishes an average of one e-text every day. Bartleby.com: Great Books Online In addition to numerous individual works of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, this site includes the Harvard Classics (70 volumes) and the Oxford Shakespeare. Bartleby.com also includes complete reference works, including the current editions of the Columbia Encyclopedia, the American Heritage Dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus, books of quotations, and style guides. This site is linked to over 15,000 books, both old and new. In addition, the site features special exhibits and book-related news stories.
FINDING GOVERNMENT INFORMATION The federal government produces a lot of very useful information, but finding what you need can be challenging, especially in the print versions. These sites make it much easier to find the information you need, and all the information found here is updated frequently, some of it daily. This Web site links you to statistical information from over 100 federal agencies. You can search by agency or by geographical area (states, counties, congressional districts, and federal judicial districts). There are also links to an online version of Statistical Abstract of the United States and international comparisons. This site is produced by the Library of Congress. Among the many features of the site are the texts of bills before both houses of congress, summaries of those bills, the text of Congressional Record, and many historical congressional documents. You can find the membership of all the committees and subcommittees in each house of congress, along with the votes cast in committee. If you’re working with a current or recent topic being considered by congress, this site is indispensable.
STAYING CURRENT ON APA STYLE FOR DOCUMENTING ONLINE SOURCES The American Psychological Association (APA) is developing a new edition of its style manual to be published in late 2001. The best way to be sure you are using the most up-to-date version of their guidelines for documenting online sources is check the APA’s Web site.
LOCATING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ABOUT WRITING Sponsored by the National Writing Centers Association, this page provides links to many useful Internet sites for writers. This site gives you easy access to online handbooks, dictionaries, and style guides. The Fergus Falls Community College On-line Writing Lab (OWL) This site is especially helpful in guiding writers through the various stages of the writing process. It has particularly good suggestions on writing introductions and conclusions--the parts of a paper many writers find most difficult. Also, if you’re uncertain about the exact meaning of grammatical terms, you can find a very clear review of them here. Proofreading for Common Surface Errors: Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar This is a good site to visit if you need to work out a systematic way of taking care of this important late stage of the writing process. This site, developed by the Campus Writing Program at Indiana University, lists some of the more common surface errors, breaking them down by category (spelling, punctuation, and so on). Each item on the list includes an explanation and suggestions for ways to deal with the error. Plagiarism: What It Is and How to Recognize and Avoid It If you are still not certain about what constitutes plagiarism, visit this Web site. This site will take you through a number of illustrations of acceptable--and unacceptable--ways of incorporating the words and ideas of other writers.
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