The best places on the Web to go for grammatical expertise.

By Meredith L. Dias

We all have different house style guidelines, but some grammatical rules are universal. What are the best online resources for brushing up on those rules? This month, we round up some of the most popular grammar websites. Of course, this is just a small sampling of the many websites available. Please feel free to share some of your favorites with us.

Grammar Girl

Mignon Fogarty, also known as "Grammar Girl," has established herself as one of the leading grammar gurus on the Internet. With updates nearly every day, her website is always offering up a new grammatical topic up for discussion. The extensive archive of past topics makes the site a premier spot for brushing up on restrictive clauses or determining whether or not it's okay to use "impact" as a verb. The website also features frequent podcasts about grammar-related topics. Visit her website here.

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

The Purdue OWL website has long been a vital resource to high school and college students, but its value transcends the academic. The website is quite user-friendly, with a links menu on the left of specific grammar topics (with drop-down menus for each topic). You can visit the grammar website here. Purdue OWL has also launched a blog (updated sporadically) to explore current grammatical debates and trends in more depth. You can read the blog here.

About.com Grammar and Composition

About.com's grammar and composition website is a comprehensive grammar resource for writers. Grammar and Composition Guide Richard Nordquist runs the site. Content is organized into four main tabs: grammar and composition, words and sentences, paragraphs and essays, and style and figures of speech. The grammar site features informational articles, blog posts, and writing exercises. Visit it here.

Capital Community College Grammar Guide

This is one of the senior grammar websites online. Don't be fooled by the somewhat outdated website design; this is a top-notch resource for both professional and academic writers. When it comes to grammar-related search terms, the CCC grammar site often pops up in the top five Google results. The website splits topics into multiple levels (similar to About.com's site): word/sentence-level, paragraph-level, and research paper/essay-level. There are also quizzes and Q&A sections. Visit the website: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar.

Meredith L. Dias is senior editor of Editors Only.

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