Topic 3.3: Matters of Grammar, Mechanics, and Style

Topic 3: Matters of Grammar, Mechanics, and Style

For many students, the discussion of grammar, mechanics, and style is intimidating. There are rules, and lots of them. And when rules are broken, some kind of inquisition or punishment is bound to follow. Any student who has experienced an instructor's editorial comments (aka "the blood in the margins of a paper") knows what it feels like to be a hapless violator of the rules.

Despite your gut reactions to learning certain rules for grammar, mechanics, and style, you have to acknowledge that the rules matter.  People communicate daily in written forms, such as emails, letters, reports, and essays. And many of them need to communicate in such a way that they are taken seriously.

In this course, it is your job to make sure that the people who read what you write (your instructor and classmates) understand what you are trying to say. If your thoughts are not arranged appropriately, your readers may get confused. If you do not acknowledge and employ the rules of grammar, mechanics, and style, you are at a distinct disadvantage as a communicator.

In this module and throughout the term, you will identify at least five grammatical, mechanical, or stylistic problems that exist in your writing. These problems may have been with you for some time, failing to be identified, researched, and remedied. In your first assigned Grammar Report, you will not only identify your problem; you will seek out examples of the problem; you will research the rules related to the problem, and you will report on your experience to your classmates. Indeed, the process is not just about you addressing a writing problem; it is about sharing your experience and remedies, so that you can teach others to avoid the pitfalls of certain writing errors.

There are a wide variety of resources to support your research. A good place to start is your textbook, Writing for Success. You can use the search feature to look up particular errors and use the practice exercises to work through the process of identifying and correcting errors. Here are some online resources that you may find useful, as well:

• The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) Links to an external site.
• Grammar Book Links to an external site.
• Grammar Girl Links to an external site.
• The Capital Community College’s Guide to Grammar and Writing  Links to an external site.

At some point, you may find that you share the same grammatical, mechanical, or stylistic problems with others in this course. Take a moment to look at the most commonly occurring errors list Links to an external site. in the "Attending to Grammar" worksheet developed by the Dartmouth Writing Program. Of the top 20 grammar errors listed, consider which ones are common to you. Then make sure you make every effort to eradicate them from your writing. As you learn from the other students about their writing problems, you will work to build an errors "hit list," which will assist you in your writing as well as your classmates in their writing.