Homework Help for Teens - English

B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper: English
B.J. is a high school student who collects good homework help sites in many different subjects for DiscoverySchool.com.

General Literature

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
This incredibly comprehensive encyclopedia is searchable and includes articles and criticism on works and authors from Beowulf to Henry James. It also includes shorter chapters on non-English works and authors.

Glossary of Literary Terms
This is a very good glossary of literary terms that you can browse alphabetically.

LitLinks
This site provides some information and links to additional sources on hundreds of authors, dramatists, poets, and essayists.

LitWeb Index
This site was created and is maintained by the English department at San Antonio College. It serves as a hub for links on many topics in literature including African American, Chicano, and American women writers.

American Literature

American Authors
This is an alphabetical list of American authors complete with pictures, links to biographies and additional information as well as full text writings available online.

Brief Timeline of American Literature and Events, 1620 - 1920
This is a very extensive timeline documenting major literary as well as political and social events.

Literary Movements in American Literature
This site provides excellent information and links in a readable format on various movements and genres in American literature. There are many links to full text works and additional information about movements, authors, and writings.

Voice of the Shuttle
American Literature (http://vos.ucsb.edu/browse.asp?id=2739) This is just about the most complete source of links to literature resources on the Web.

British Literature

Absolute Shakespeare
This is a comprehensive site on Shakespeare that includes biographical information, full text of his plays and sonnets, essays, summaries and commentaries, a Shakespeare glossary, and information on the authorship debate surrounding the Bard.

British Literature & Authors Online
This site provides links to sites on major British authors and works arranged chronologically.

The British Literature Index
This hub organizes British writers by period and provides some basic information on each as well as links to additional information.

Shakespeare Resource Center
Though this site contains a great deal of information about Shakespeare and his works, its real worth lies in the incredible number of links that are presented in each section.

Writing a Paper

A+ Research and Writing for High School and College Students
This is a great resource from the Internet Public Library's TeenSpace on researching and writing a paper. It includes a step by step guide to the process, an InfoSearch section on finding the information you need, and links to other helpful sites on research and writing.

General Writing Concerns (Purdue University's Online Writing Lab)
This site provides instruction in effective writing, editing and proofreading. It also serves as a guide to writing certain kinds of papers (on fiction, on poetry, essay exams, etc.).

Guide to Writing a Basic Essay
This site provides a step by step resource for writing an essay beginning with topic selection and ending with formatting and finishing.

How to Write a Term Paper
This site serves as a step by step guide to writing a research paper; starting with selecting a topic and ending with drafting and revising the paper. It includes a guide to parenthetical notation and MLA style citations.

Principles of Composition
You can use the drop down menus on this site to get help on topics within The Writing Process (stages and elements of writing), Structural Considerations (parts of a paper), and Patterns of Composition (types of papers).

Research and Documenting Sources (Purdue University's Online Writing Lab)
This site provides instruction on successful research strategies as well as using and documenting sources.

Grammar

Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling (Purdue University's Online Writing Lab)
This site gives explanations and examples for tons of writing topics. For example, when should you really use a comma; and what exactly is passive voice?

Guide to Grammar and Style
Jack Lynch is an English professor at Rutgers University and has provided a good guide to grammar and style in writing. You can search the site by using the alphabetized contents list, jump to the entries starting with a specific letter, or use the search engine.

Citing References

The Citation Machine
This is a very handy tool for learning how to cite sources in MLA and APA citation styles.

Online! Citation Styles
This is a great reference for citing Internet/electronic sources. It gives instruction and examples for citing in numerous styles including MLA, APA, Chicago, and CBE.

The Writing Center: Citing References in Your Paper
This is a very good resource for figuring out how to cite many different kinds of materials both within the paper and in a Works Cited page. It gives clear examples for MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE, and APSA citation styles.