Websites
Finds from the Internet
Check out this list of websites about American literature.
Always be cautious when using sites from the open internet, and be sure to read websites critically.
Recommended Websites
- Voice of the Shuttle
One of the most thorough lists of links to literature-related resources, maintained by the University of California–Santa Barbara.
- Society of Early Americanists
The purpose of this Society shall be to further the exchange of ideas and information among scholars of various disciplines who study the literature and culture of America to approximately .
- The McNeil Center for Early American Studies
The McNeil Center is an interdisciplinary community of scholars who study the histories and cultures of North America in the Atlantic world before .
- The Mather Project
The matherproject.org is an outgrowth of an ongoing effort to publish Cotton Mather’s holograph manuscript ‘Biblia Americana’ (–), a huge commentary on the Bible, currently edited by an international team of scholars, and collaboratively published in 10 volumes by Mohr Siebeck (Germany) and Baker Academic (USA).
- Early Americas Digital Archive
The Early Americas Digital Archive (EADA) is a collection of electronic texts originally written in or about the Americas from to approximately .
- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. Its mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources.
Writing Websites
These websites can teach you to write better.
- The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
This website and the printed Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation present American English rules and guidelines. The book is a perennial bestseller, and the site offers a wealth of free information.
- Designing an Effective PowerPoint Presentation: Quick Guide
A presentation on effective PowerPoint design from the OWL at Purdue.
- Grammar Girl
Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl makes complex grammar questions simple ….
- Grammarly
Grammarly is a spelling and grammar checker that comes as a desktop app, a Word plugin, and a Chrome plugin.
- Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University
The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue.
- UW–Madison Writer’s Handbook
Instructional materials on academic and professional writing.
Read Websites Critically
Anyone can publish anything on the internet.
Use the Spider Method to ensure that your internet sources are appropriate for your research.
- Source
Who wrote the information? Is he qualified? If you can’t find an author, you shouldn’t trust the information until you verify it elsewhere.
- Purpose
Why does this website exist? Is it intended to sell a product or convince readers of something? Can you detect any bias?
- Information
Is the information current? Check for a publication date. If there isn’t one, you need to verify currency with another source.
- Domain
Be aware of the host site. Is the domain .edu or .gov? These domains sometimes have more authoritative or reliable information.
- Educational
Who is the intended audience? Is there adequate depth to the information? Are you sure it’s not a hoax site or satire?
- Reliability
Is the same information available on other websites? Triangulate with other sources to improve the chance of getting complete or accurate information.