Timothy L Pagaard: Mechanics
MLA conventions,
writing evaluations,
and college services
Sample student writing
Mechanics
"Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is the best."
--Frank Zappa
Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage
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Essential lessons
The following are brief lessons I have developed in areas of grammar and usage which I have found to give my students the most trouble. These lessons are not comprehensive, but they are a good place to begin. Join Bob Marley and the Wailers, your guides on a rock-'em, sock-'em, sometimes even poignant quest for editing mastery.
You will find more information on these topics in the links below or in your favorite writing handbook. I recommend Keys for Writers by Ann Raimes. In our Writing Center and Writing Labs you also may use a variety of good grammar software applications to hone your editing skills. Ask the writing tutors or lab aides for assistance.
Sentence boundaries
College writing should be free of sentence boundary errors--that is,
fragment sentences, fused sentences (sometimes called "run-ons"),
and comma splices. Find out here how to avoid them.
Agreement: pronoun/antecedent and subject/verb
Twelve essential comma rules
Definite rules govern the placement of commas. Here are a dozen which
should take care of just about all of your needs.
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Links
On-line Writing Lab (OWL), Purdue University
You will never find a more useful site than this one, with everything
from advice on mechanics and rhetoric to exercises for improving your
skills to advice on conducting research. It also provides links to other
useful sites. Whatever you are looking for you will find here... and much,
much, more. I still can't believe it's free.
The Elements of Style, William Strunk and E.B. White
This is an on-line version of the most popular writing, grammar, and
usage manual in history. I recommend that you start here as you work to
perfect your editing skills. Excellent examples help you to understand
each concept.
On-line English
Grammar, Anthony Hughes
Find answers to your questions about grammar and usage in a Web-site
organized conveniently by topic.
The English
Department, Barbara Dieu, Lycee Pasteur, Sao Paulo, Brazil
In Ms Dieu's words, this site provides links to "lots of interesting
and fun sites for you to surf through and practice your English."
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Other useful resources
Dr Grammar: "Your
Rx for writing ills"
Dave's ESL Cafe
Roget's
Thesaurus, University of Chicago
Miriam-Webster Online dictionary
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Online Etymology Dictionary
Writers' Web, University of Richmond
Your Dictionary.com: dictionary,
language dictionaries, thesaurus
Copyright Wiley Miller 2002. All rights reserved.
