What My Gramar
Didn’t Teach Me
The Writing Centre
Nancy Marenick
http://www.mystfx.ca/resources/writingcentre/
We Learn …
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we discuss
80% of what we experience
95% of what we teach others.
William Glasser
Communication Skills are Crucial
Students must have the ability:
To solve problems
To examine ideas carefully and support
them with evidence
To incorporate and synthesize
information
(Sully,1995, Malaspina University-College’s Writing-Across-the-Curriculum
Project) http://www.mala.bc.ca/www/wac/proj.htm
One can write…..
only as well as one reads.
Kurland (2002) Reading and Writing Ideas As Well As Words
www.criticalreading.com
Syntaxis
http://www.syntaxis.com/index.php/
grammar_quiz/
Resources
The Writer’s Toolkit:
http://thewriterstoolkit.com/
Guide to Grammar and Writing:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/
grammar/
What’s the difference?
Time flies like an
arrow
Fruit flies like an
orange
Sentences are complete thoughts.
Time flies like an
arrow.
Fruit flies like an
orange
Complete thought independent
clause (subject
verb other words)
Not a complete
thought - no verb
You Tube Clips
Coordinating Conjunctions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
rlPnBBoca7s
Commas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Ua197s8d2TA&playnext=1&list=P
LA168DC33D4297BD2
Language Tools and References
Visual Thesaurus:
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
Pocket Basics:
http://www.pocketbasics.com/Downloads.
aspx
Dictionary Resources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Common Error
Manuela is Ramon’s lifeline, he
doesn't appreciate all she does for
him.

Complete sentence
Complete sentence
__________________
. _________________
__________________ , and ______________
__________________ ; _________________
__________________ ; however, _________

Dependent
independent clause
_ . _ . _ . _clause
._ . _ , _________________
Solutions
Manuela is . . . . He doesn't . . ..
Manuela is. . . , but he doesn't . . . .
Manuela is . . . ; he doesn't . . ..
Manuela is . . . ; however, he doesn't . . ..
Although Manuela is . . . , he doesn't . . ..
Affect/Effect
Affect = Action = Verb
The researchers’ results affected later
studies.
Effect = Result = Noun
The effect of the drums added
suspense.
Then/Than
He ran faster th_n his friend.
He ran faster than his friend.
Th_n she went to the store.
Then she went to the store.
Its/It’s (it is)
___ your turn to present your proposal.
It’s your turn to present your proposal.
The dog wagged _____ tail.
The dog wagged its tail.
There/Their/They’re
There is. . .

Expletive construction and not
the subject of the sentence
Put it there.

In that place
They argued their
case.

Possessive, belongs to
They’re going… 
Contraction for they are.
Solution: no contractions in
academic writing.
Misplaced Modifiers
The professor posted the notes for the
students covered in class.
Barbara’s husband walked the dog, who
had worked until 8 p.m.
Yesterday I found a five-dollar bill walking
behind the school.
I shot a bear in my pajamas.
Grammar and New York Times
http://learning.blogs
.nytimes.com/2010/0
3/04/5-easy-waysto-learn-grammarwith-the-new-yorktimes/
http://escherdax.wordpr
ess.com/tag/grammar/
Vigorous writing is concise.
William Strunk’s
Elements of Style
http://www.bartleby.com/141/
Punctuating Properly
http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=lm2O
zAX86JU
Quick Access
http://shopping.symp
atico.msn.ca/prices/q
uick-accessreference-for-writersthird-canadianedition/itemid195987
59/?itemtext=itemna
me:quick-accessreference-for-writersthird-canadian-edition
ISBN: 0132384213
The Grammar Lady
http://www.
aacton.glad
brook.iowa
pages.org/i
d3.html
Helpful LInks
http://www.chompchomp.com/
http://english-zone.com/index.php?ID=1
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/gram
mar/parts.htm
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/editing.html
http://www.teachmeteamwork.com/