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Grammar... that covers everything, right? Well, not quite.

Making sure you look at the correct page

Don't forget: punctuation and spelling are not part of "grammar."

According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, "grammar" is "the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their functions and relations in the sentence..." or "... a study of what is to be preferred and what avoided in inflection and syntax."

Grammar questions include queries like,

  • "Do I need a noun or a pronoun here?"
  • "Why would I want to put an adjective there when I could use this pretty adverb?"
  • "Is this a commonly confused word?" (And, if so, how can we make it clearer for the poor word?)

Grammar Resources at Purdue's OWL

Although spelling help and punctuation help are available in other places in addition to Purdue's site, Purdue has spelling, punctuation, and grammar help all together in one root page. It is by far the most extensive and reliable source for online grammar help.

Use an online writer's guide

Don't forget to check out the other online writer's guides, especially if your professor uses a particular guide. Some of the guides have grammar help for certain areas, but they generally do not address grammar issues in great depth.

Writer's references such as Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference, the Holt Handbook, and the Bedford Researcher are online.

 
 
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