British Library
British Library: Language & Literature: Dictionaries and Meanings
Article discusses the history of English dictionaries over a five-hundred-year period. Includes selections from Samuel Johnson's dictionary of 1755 and the Oxford English Dictionary. With useful comments about the origins of words,...
Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
Purdue University Owl: Academic Writing: Levels of Formality
Basic information explaining how the context, i.e., the audience and your purpose, determines whether you should use formal, semi-formal, or informal language. The links on the sidebar provide much more information about formal academic...
Get It Write
Get It Write: Using a Comma Before "And" in a Series
This article discusses the correct use of a comma before the word "and" in a list. In addition to clear explanations and examples, there is a self-test with answers. L.11-12.1a Gram/Usage changes, L.11-12.1b Usage issues
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Grammar's Great Divide: The Oxford Comma
If you read "Bob, a DJ and a clown" on a guest list, are three people coming to the party, or only one? That depends on whether you're for or against the Oxford comma- perhaps the most hotly contested punctuation mark of all time. When...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Where Do New Words Come From?
Marcel Danesi explains how new words enter a language. L.11-12.1a Gram/Usage changes
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Did English Evolve?
This lesson focuses on the evolution of the English language. What is the difference between "a hearty welcome" and "a cordial reception"? In a brief, action-packed history of the English language video, Kate Gardoqui explains why these...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Making Sense of Spelling
What can spelling tell us about relationships between words? While spelling may sometimes seem random or unexpected, this lesson illuminates how peeling back the layers of spelling helps us understand the complex history and meaningful...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Grammar and Formality
This lesson goes over ways in which the correct use of grammar may be perceived as formality. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1 and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.6, L.11-12.1a Gram/Usage changes