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Behind every great writer is great grammar, and the trick to great grammar is simplicity and cleanliness, never any mess or confusion! Great grammar is not a gift. It is a skill; you can learn it! But you have to think about it. You need to know your writing well enough to know where your grammatical strengths and weaknesses lie. Knowing your writing is your ticket to grammatical greatness!             Below is a simple guide to grammatical gregariousness, a surefire means of grabbing your reader’s gazoo without his ever even knowing it and sweeping him along on the swell of your grammatical grandiloquence.  Follow these simple guidelines, and you will know your writing as well as any teacher! Become a guaranteed grammatical grandmaster today!!!            

 Use the categories below to assess and correct your writing. I am always available to answer all your questions. And remember, think Grammatical Greatness!  

 1. Tense:

a.When writing about the events of a piece of literature, use present tense. Imagine the characters and events as living and occurring now.

 b. When writing narratively, use the past tense.

c.  Keep your tenses consistent. If the body of your text is in past tense, it must be consistently past tense. d.    Keep your tenses simple. Avoid the perfect tense (have, had, will have had) and the conditional (would, could) wherever possible.  

2. Agreement:

a. Subjects and verbs must agree (be the same) in number: singular subject means singular verb; plural subject means plural verb.

b. Pronouns and their referents must agree in number as well. It is very common to have a singular referent (the noun to which the pronoun refers) and a plural pronoun (The person put their gloves by the radiator.), so be careful.  

3. Reference:

a. Make sure that the pronouns you use in your writing have specific referents in proximity (the previous couple of sentences). You mustn’t leave your reader wondering to what or to whom the pronoun is referring.

Francis gave Mary her final two weeks notice. (To whom does “her” refer?)

b.     The most common reference errors occur when using this, that, and it. Please be sure you have a clear reference when using either of these.

Mr. Walker failed me because I was late all the time. This really made me furious. (To what does “this” refer?)  

 4. Comma Usage:

 a. Use a comma with the coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, for, but, yet) when you are joining complete ideas.

b. Use commas with phrases or clauses interrupt the progress of the idea in the sentence ( Walter closely observed his daughters, whose relationship had been strained for years, and decided that he needed talk to his wife about them.).

 c. Use a comma after a long phrase or clause which begins your sentence.

d. Never end a complete idea with a comma. Use a period. (I had known for years that my father was ill, I didn’t the end would come so quickly.)        

Macgruder’s Helpful Hints for Effective Writing

            Remember that your audience needs clear, concise writing. Here are some hints that will help you to be a direct and effective writer.  

 1. Verb Usage: Use active verbs that capture your thinking. Avoid using passive voice (never have the subject of your sentence receive the action of the verb).

I was given an old pair of boots by my father. (passive)

My father gave me an old pair of boots. (active)    

2. Syntax: Syntax is the way you put words together in a sentence to communicate your idea. Be direct. Remove unnecessary words (very, definitely, totally, etc.) and phrases. Remember that the power of your sentence is in simplicity, clarity, and verb choice. Avoid convolution. As you revise your writing, think about how you have constructed your sentences. A simple rule is clear subject, active verb, and simple qualification. If you see “combine”, “compress”, “simplify” or “clarify”, you must take out the unnecessary phrasing.

 3. Sentence Combination: A useful rule of thumb is to combine no more than two separate ideas in a sentence. There may be times, particularly as you become more proficient in concision, that you will play with this rule, but for now keep it simple.

4. Coherence: Think carefully about how you move from thought to thought. Connect your thoughts smoothly. Avoid simply stacking one thought on top of another.

5. Logic: Be sure that your assertions can be clearly supported in your reading. Don’t cling to an idea that cannot be supported.