As a consultant here at the MSU Writing Center, I’ve noticed one item in particular that almost all Writing Center clients who are non-native speakers of English struggle with: the English article system. Articles like a and the are an inherent knowledge native English speakers take for granted. Sure, if something is definite, it is [...]
Grammar may seem tedious and frivolous to many. You may think you’re wording is right, but then you ended your sentence in a preposition. Or you split an infinitive. Or you used ‘affect’ as a noun. Just when you think you can get away with a passive sentence, you’re suddenly overcome with the fear of [...]
When I look at the appointment form online and all a client has to work on is “grammar,” I cringe a little bit. I think grammar is important, but I am not an expert, I do not know all of the rules and I really cannot explain them. I am also a firm believer that [...]
I can admit that standard grammar is an exceedingly important part of writing, particularly in the academic context that The Writing Center exists in. If only to avoid being distracting to readers, grammar is important. If we also want to convey a sense of professionalism or mastery of coursework, it becomes indispensable. I will also admit, [...]
It’s a normal occurrence in a writing center appointment. I will ask, “what would you like to work on today?” The response typically includes — or starts with — the word “grammar.” I want to stress, first and foremost, that this is okay. There is nothing wrong with wanting your college paper to contain Standard American [...]
One of the phrases I hear the most from students coming to The Writing Center is, “I’m terrible at grammar.” What’s highly interesting about this phrase is two things: 1.) Generally speaking, students say “grammar,” but actually define that term as including “grammar, spelling, and punctuation,” and 2.) In my experience, 9 out of every [...]
This is the first post in a series on the grammar debate among consultants and the larger field of writing center studies. Here at MSU we see lots of clients who come to us for help with “grammar,” which we then caution that we do more than grammar and are interested in having a conversation [...]
There are always those pesky little grammar rules that everyone seems to struggle with, like when to use a semicolon or when to use “i.e.” But The Oatmeal has catchy little comics that have a funny way of helping you remember these rules. You can check these comics while writing to check your own grammar [...]
Did you ever have POV written on your paper? “Point of View” is the perspective that you write from. First, second or third person can be confusing, and picking the right perspective for your paper is very important. Take a look at Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips on Point of View for a nice summary. You can [...]
In the transition to our new website we’ve also been harvesting content from the old website, which means we’ve found some awesome Writing Center gems. Like an assortment of informative podcasts! Rather than let these podcasts vanish into the ether, we’ve decided to archive them on our new site. You can find the entire collection [...]
