5 Great Do-It-Yourself Grammar Websites

5 Great Do-It-Yourself Grammar Websites

5 Great Do-It-Yourself Grammar Websites

I'm writing a blog about how to use correct grammar and will, no doubt, get caught using incorrect grammar myself. If you do find something wrong in this or any of the blog posts please feel free to point it out in the comment section. I'm not always grammatically correct and I often question whether or not I have chosen the correct word, punctuation or sentence structure. I also use the internet every day and so naturally whenever I have a question I head on over to Google (or open Firefox where Google is my homepage) and do a search. Over the course of my Google-ing journeys I have found some consistently great grammar websites that I often reference when I have a question.

- Grammar Girl http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips are fantastic because most of the articles are written in response to readers' questions. Like any decent education website or blog, Grammar Girl offers real world examples and memorable rules to always get it right. Along with the Quick and Dirty rules, she also includes a detailed and politically correct explanation of the rule and often includes further resources on the rule in question. Yet another positive aspect of the website is the guest blogs and articles. It always comforts me when an expert uses another expert to explain something because I know that I am getting top quality information from more than one source.

- The Oatmeal http://www.theoatmeal.com This website, created by Matthew Inman is a place for all of his marketing, web design and grammar comics. Although his comics cover a variety of topics, he has some excellent comics on grammar which are not only hilarious but also very informative. If you want grammar rules to stick in your brain these comics are a great way to achieve that goal. You will not easily forget his examples especially with his accompanying graphics. This is one of my favorite websites simply because the comical nature of it helps me to remember the important stuff. The Oatmeal also has an e-store where you can buy posters of these helpful hints to better your grammar. - Grammar Book http://www.grammarbook.com Although this website is a little more stuffy than Grammar Girl and definitely more stuffy than The Oatmeal, it is an excellent resource for grammar issues. This website provides information on grammar in general, punctuation, word choice, writing numbers and capitalization. For a more literal and less entertaining grammar resource this is an excellent choice. The examples and rules get right down to the meat of the topic and teach you the politically correct and basic grammar rules.

- Modern Language Association http://www.mla.org The Modern Language Association is an excellent resource for formatting and citation questions. This is a very commonly used format guide for college students and business professionals to the point that I would call it the standard. When I was in college the one book I never sold back to the bookstore was the MLA handbook because it was required for almost every one of my classes. Although the official MLA website does not offer other grammatical instruction, the printed handbook does. I also frequently use Son of a Citation Machine (http://citationmachine.net) to make sure I'm using citations correctly.

- Merriam Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com/ If you are still confused about whether or not you are using the correct word for the message you are trying to convey, this online dictionary and thesaurus is a great place to look. It will give you the correct meanings of the word as well as provide examples of correct word usage and examples of similar words. If you already know what your word means but you are annoyed with how often you recycle the word you can also utilize the thesaurus feature of the website to find new related words.

In conclusion, you cannot write well or expect to be taken seriously if your grammar, punctuation, spelling and word choice are atrocious. Furthermore; you will need to cite a source or learn some new formatting rule at one point or another so whether it is MLA, APA or some other style guide; this is an essential tool. Last, but definitely not least, the dictionary/thesaurus combination always has been and always will be your friend in writing. Never underestimate the power and information held within a simple dictionary or thesaurus. It never hurts to expand your vocabulary and double check the meaning of the word you are using.

Get going on your grammar training! Remember to leave comments on my grammar, word choice, format and punctuation. If you would like to contribute your own resource suggestions please do so in the comments below.

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