Grammar Help

Five tips to better writing

 

As a college graduate and a teacher, your peers, students’ parents, and administrators will expect you to use grammatically correct, professional language free of slang and colloquialisms. But more importantly, spelling and grammar errors in your written work will adversely affect what others think of your professionalism and intelligence.

 

Tip #1: Turn on the spelling and grammar checkers in your word processor. Pay attention to the words with red (spelling) and green (grammar) lines under them!

 

Tip #2: Consider purchasing a grammar book, such as Rules for Writers: A concise handbook (Hacker, D., St. Martin’s Press). You can find used copies at Amazon. COM for very reasonable prices; grammar rules have not changed significantly in the past ten years so a used edition will probably have the answers to your questions. However, newest edition has APA information, etc. If you are considering graduate school, I strongly suggest the latest edition.

 

Tip #3: Your professor should never, never be the first person to read what you have written. 

·                                             Read you own work several time before submitting. Write ahead . . . do not wait until the night before. You have heard that before, but have you tried it? Write at least a week ahead, wait 24 hours, then return to read your essay. Make corrections and changes, put aside for another 24 hours, read again.

·                                             Ask others to read your work. You can visit the Winthrop writing center or ask your friends, family, and other interns to read your work.

 

 

Tip #4: If your professor marks an error and you are unsure how to correct the error Or to check a question before you submit the essay, try one the sites listed below.

 

1.                 Elements of Style is a classic reference for writers; considered the seminal reference. http://www.bartleby.com/141/

 

2.                 Anthony Hughes' On Line English Grammar Thorough writing reference, this guide describes correct English grammar. Search table of contents, part of speech or keyword. http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/index.cfm

 

3.                 Good Grammar, Good Style Archive provides more than 100 pages of useful articles and frequently asked questions! Someone will answer questions about style, grammar, or mechanics via email.  http://www.wordsmyth.net/  From this page you can link to several other useful sites such as

·                    WordSmyth, a thesaurus or

·                    OnLine Resources for Writers, links to others helpful sites.

 

4.                 English Plus - Grammar Slammer Grammar and style guide for students and writers has sections on punctuation, capitalization, subject-verb agreement, common mistakes and more.
http://englishplus.com/grammar

 

5.                 GrammarNOW provides answers to your specific question free and will edit your paper for a fee. http://www.grammarnow.com/

 

6.                 VocabularyU visit here to play games or find vocabulary fun for your students. Browse around before you leave as there are many hidden treasures here. http://www.syndicate.com/

 

Tip #5: Check your paper for these common errors (frequently found in papers in previous semesters).

  • Do not use contractions for any reason.
  • Remove words such as a lot, great and other slang or colloquial superlatives from your written vocabulary.
  • If you use quotation marks you should be able to cite the source or do not do it. Quotations marks are reserved for direct quotations (see one of the websites for appropriate use) or very unique words, neither is the case in most of your essays. If you wish to emphasize a word or phrase, use underline, bold, or italics.
  • Do not split verbs . . . I have also made is a common error I have found in previous 490 essays. Should be: Also, I have made.
  • Use active voice not passive.
  • Don’t try to sound intelligent by using big words when small ones will do the trick!!!!!!! More is less also applies . . . do not write long sentences when a few words will do.