Resources for Speaking and Writing

• Communication Across the Curriculum Resource page
   
• Wolfram Alpha: A very diffferent kind of search engine.  It does "computational knowledge" searches and results. You need to see it to understand how useful it could be for some purposes, like assembling demographic or geographic or mathmatical information.

How to Search the Internet Effectively

Barebones  A web searching tutorial created by the Library at the University of South Carolina,  Great basic advice on using search engines and avoiding a list of thousands of (mostly useless) hits.  Spending a few minutes here can save you a lot of time and trouble later!! Evaluating Web Resources - The Widener College site with a video tutorial on to criteria for evaluating lots of different types of Web resources.  Good Stuff! The Spider's Apprentice  A site specifically devoted to discussing the differences between search engines like Yahoo? Google, FAST, Alta Vista, etc.  Rates search engines on various tasks.  Explains "metatags."  Good Stuff and up to date Searching the Internet for Information - an excellent introduction to using the internet for research in a wide variety of academic areas. This source will enable you to get to sources and search engines which provide much better information for speech students than what you are likely to find on Yahoo! or Excite. Resources for Speakers Audience and Audience Analysis for Communicators - an introduction to thinking about the audience you are communicating with. "Beginning Research" Tutorial  (UMN) - an excellent on-line tutorial covering issues related to using the library, selecting a topic and determining a research strategy. A good starting point. Topics - selecting and narrowing a topic, moving from topic to thesis Constructing Arguments (esp. in persuasion) - Fundamental issues to consider in developing an argument to make your case. Informative Speeches - a complete on-line introduction to developing, organizing and delivering an informative speech from a site at Colorado State SUPPORT/PROOF - Resources on proving your point, including: Defining Proof, and What to Use as Proof  [ Click on the index topic "Argument/Presenting Evidence" to find material on proof.] Public Speaking Bibliography - a site located at Maricopa College which contains ideas for finding sources including a number of links to a variety of on-line reference and subject sources, all designed for the beginning public speaking student. Presentation (& Slide) Tips - Garr Reynolds  - an excellent site devoted to improving design and the visual elements of public presentations. Resources for Scholarly Writing Resources for Writers -- Several of the links above come from the excellent Colorado State On-line Writing Center.  There is much more helpful and very accessible information their.  Check out the whole of their resources, especially check on the "Writing Guides" for material which may be useful in other classes as well as CATA 101. Columbia Guide to Online Style  The internet site listed in the Freshman Seminar "plagiarism" exercise created by Janice Walker. Describes MLA citation style for electronic sources.  (I prefer the style guide Online to this one.) Documenting Sources  The Purdue University Library's starting point with links to lots of pages that will show you how to list information you find on the Internet in the footnotes and reference sections of your papers, as well as ideas on effective use of the internet, and how to cite print sources. Infoplease.com.  A very convenient site for finding basic reference information (like a big almanac).  It has dictionaries, an encyclopedia, multiple almanacs, links to current event information, biographies, etc.  I'd bookmark this site. Purdue On-line Writing Lab One of the best Web-based centers for providing assistance and resources for writers.  One of the best Web-based centers providing assistance and resources for writers.

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