Reference
A directory of resources about reference in the field of technical communication.

• Dictionary.com
  A comprehensive online reference resource, with a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia and word/phrase translation service.
• Interaction Design Encyclopedia
  An open-source encyclopedia of terms from the fields surrounding interaction design.
• Encyclopedia of Business Case Terms
  A business case is a tool that supports planning and decision-making, including decisions about whether to buy, which vendor to choose, and when to implement.
• Comunicazione Tecnica
  Il processo di comunicazione tecnica consiste nel veicolare informazioni circa una tecnologia ad una platea ben definita.
• Search Engine Marketing
  A concise history of search engine optimisation and online marketing all the way to the present. The article covers the evolution of search and describes search engine algorithms and the use of correct semantic mark-up to gain better search engine rankings.
• DocBook Element Quick Reference Card
  A one-page reference card for DocBook elements.
• Confusing Words
  Confusing Words is a collection of words that are troublesome to readers and writers. Words are grouped according to the way they are most often confused or misused.
• GrammarNOW
  This site is dedicated to answering grammar, composition, or formatting questions.
• Gender-Free Legal Writing: Managing the Personal Pronouns
  Where a statement of any complexity is made about a person, the maker of the statement may face decisions about how further references should be framed.
• Usability
  A hypertext encyclopedia entry about usability, with links to many related topics.
• User Interface
  A hypertext encyclopedia entry about user interface design, with links to many related topics.
• Technical Writer
  A hypertext encyclopedia entry about technical writers, with links to many related topics.
• EERE Communication Standards and Guidelines
  The development and dissemination of new communication standards and guidelines are evolving processes that require cooperation, teamwork, and clear communication.
• Technical Report Overview
  This outline is provided to help introduce the Technical Report and to clarify the acceptable format and level of achievement that is considered essential for successful completion of the Technical Report.
• Economist Style Guide
  This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist.
• Catching Errors in Internet Addresses
  Internet addresses have been proliferating in publications, and they're not going to go away. Editors unfamiliar with the Net may see these addresses as incomprehensible blocks of characters that can't be understood or analyzed into components. But learning a little about their structure can help prevent you from publishing erroneous addresses.
• GNOME Documentation Style Guide
  The GNOME Documentation Style Guide provides guidelines for authors who want to contribute to the GNOME Documentation Project.
• It's Not Fowler
  The debate over The New Fowler's Modern English Usage has the potential to become more interesting because there are personalities involved.
• Localization Guidelines for Language and Terminology
  How does your writing style affect localization? The following list of suggestions provides some language and terminology guidelines that should ease localizing your application.
• United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database
  This database was compiled over the years in response to diverse and wide-ranging demands of United Nations language staff for terminology and nomenclature. It is being put on the Internet to facilitate the efforts of people around the world who participate in the work of the United Nations but do not have access to the Secretariat's intranet.
• Concise Writing Guide
  Provides alternatives to overstated, pompous words; wordy, bureaucratic phrases; and verbose, sometimes amusing redundant phrases.
• Garbl's Style Manual
  This manual mostly follows Associated Press style but also follows advice of other excellent books on writing and Web sites listed in Garbl's Writing Resources Online -- and my selection and interpretation of their guidelines. This guide focuses on U.S. standards for spelling, punctuation, definitions, usage, style and grammar.
• Terminology Made Simple
  This paper describes the types of terms that you should include in software product glossary and describes how to write definitions for these terms. It also describes a method for controlling word usage and managing terminology for software projects.
• Basic Prose Style and Mechanics
  This pamphlet is designed to introduce you to, or remind you of, the basic principles of prose style and mechanics. The Prose Style Section describes twelve basic principles of good prose style and illustrates most of these principles with examples. Since most writers and editors agree about the importance of these twelve basic principles, I have drawn from a wide variety of sources. However, I would especially recommend two texts: The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White and Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity & Grace by Joseph Williams.
• CSS Properties Table
  A quick reference table for the css properties!
• Style, Grammar, and Usage
  Information on style, grammar, and usage.
• Engineering Communication Centre
  Language Across the Curriculum in Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto helps students to communicate in writing and orally.
• Guidelines for Technical Writing
  The rules here apply to all classes in the Chemical Engineering Department at Ohio University. Most of them will apply in 'the real world', too, although your employer may have some specific format requirements.
• Council of Science Editors: Reference Links
  Links to thousands of reference sites, most of which relate to science writing.
• Professional Editorial Standards
  The skills listed in this publication are those most commonly required for editing English-language text, whether on paper or on screen. The editor's functions start when the writer declares the manuscript more or less complete and continue through to the point at which it is ready for publication, regardless of the medium. Editors perform many tasks along the way, including structural editing, stylistic editing, copy editing, markup/coding, and proofreading. The technologies used in editing and in publishing change, but the fundamental tasks and the editorial skills required to work with words remain relatively constant.
• Writing Style Guide
  The following is a description of Florida Institute of Technology's in-house writing style for everything except technical papers and reports. This guide is set up alphabetically and contains listings that will allow you to standardize everything you write for the university. Reference materials include The Associated Press Stylebook And Libel Manual (Fully Revised and Updated 1998 Edition), Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary and McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms (Fourth Edition).
• Guide to Citation Style Guides
  An annotated collection of links to the best and most up-to-date citation guides that show how to properly cite resources from the Internet. Style guides for APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, BSE, styles and a description of how to cite references from Lexis/Nexis.
• Microsoft Manual of Style 3.0
  Complete styles and guidelines for publishing a variety of technical publications.
• Proofreader's and Editor's Symbols
  The fo