Grammar and Mechanics

Feel like you don't know where to start with improving your grammar and mechanics? I know the feeling.

Amazingly, one can do an entire degree in English without ever being explicitly taught grammar (yep—I'm talking about my own experience!). I'm not sure if it was assumed that we would already know all the rules perfectly (and never forget any of them), or if the assumption was that we'd just "figure it out," but even when I started teaching English, I would have to look up grammar rules!

College tends to focus far more on the ideas around writing and literature than the mechanics. But, in nearly all of your classes, professors will take grammar and mechanics into consideration when they grade your papers. Additionally, in the workplace, it's generally expected that you write emails, reports, or other professional writing using standard academic or professional grammar and mechanics.

While in ENGL 1180, some grammar is covered, there isn't time to cover every possible issue that you might have. Also, it's not generally something that someone can just read all the rules and remember them perfectly. So, it's going to take time to get better at it (and that's okay!). I have a few recommendations to help you as a college student.

Khan Academy Grammar

This is hands down the best course I've found on grammar and mechanics. It's short, to the point, and clear. And the best part is that it's free. You also don't have to complete the whole class or complete the lessons in order. If there's an area you know you are struggling with (like commas), you can skip down to that lesson.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar

Grammarly

One of the easiest things you can do to help you proofread is to download the Grammarly add-in for Word or your browser (or both!). They even have one for mobile devices if you find yourself working on your phone often. Additionally, as you continue to correct your issues over and over again, you'll start learning the rules. This is a more indirect way to learn grammar and mechanics, but it can be highly effective nonetheless. As of this writing, the free version should have more than enough functionality for your academic needs.

Grammarly will check both your spelling and your grammar for you. It's not always 100% accurate since it's software and not a person, so it's still important to understand basic grammar and mechanics rules, but, oh, does it help! It will catch both spelling and grammar errors far better than Microsoft or Google's built-in software.

Grammarly cannot, however, catch more complicated issues like flow and readability. So, you'll still need to read through your paper carefully and use some other techniques.

It's free and there are extensions for your computer, Microsoft Word, and most browsers. There is a paid version, but the free version works just fine for general grammar and mechanics correction.

The specific links for add-ons are above, and here's the main website: https://www.grammarly.com/

Formatting and Other Mechanics

Formatting and other specific mechanics rules are often determined by what "style" you are following for writing. For example, how you write out dates or numbers may be determined by which style you are writing in. In college, you'll often be using MLA, APA, or Chicago. In the workplace, AP style is often used. Below are a few of the differences and some resource sites.

MLA or Modern Language Association: Typically used in the humanities (literature, film, cultural studies, and foreign languages, for example). Some composition writing classes might use MLA or APA since they are trying to prepare you for general academic writing. Composition classes that are focused on literature will likely stick to MLA.

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_style_introduction.html

• https://style.mla.org/works-cited/citations-by-format/

APA or American Psychological Association: Typically used in the social sciences, but APA has been gaining popularity in other fields, as well. You'll typically use this in psychology, sociology, nursing, other sciences, and education. You may find business classes that use this also. I use APA for my ENGL 1190 classes since it's more commonly used in the majors that most students at Macomb are studying in.

• https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

AP or Associated Press: Typically used in news writing. It's also commonly used in workplace writing, technical writing, and web writing.

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html

• Quick Reference Guide, from the Colorado Department of Public Health

Chicago: Typically used in business, history, and the fine arts. It is also sometimes used in the social sciences.

• https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html

Ultimately, the style used will be up to your professor or workplace. Workplaces rarely specify for general business writing, but for writing jobs like copywriting, technical writing, UX writing, etc, the company will usually have a standard style.