Libraries: Writing 1 & 2: Reference

Reference Materials

Reference books include encyclopedias, almanacs, handbooks, guides, and style manuals. They can help you find quick factual information and are a good place to get background information. Use the below links to find out general information about your topic.

Dictionaries

Merriam Webster Online
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary is based on the print version of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.

Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.

Encyclopedias

Britannica Academic
Includes the Encyclopedia Britannica, World Data Analyst (statistics on the countries of the world), Gateway to the Classics (significant works in literature, philosophy, history, and science), Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, and more.

Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes
An Encyclopedia in Eighteen Volumes Originally published in 1907-1921, the volumes include 303 chapters, edited and written by leading scholars of the early twentieth century.

Reference

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary and subject specific research in areas such as art, business, education, history, etc.