Dan Curtis ~ Professional Personal Historian

I’ve a confession to make. I’ve never been great with  grammar. Maybe that’s why I work primarily in video   I’m sure some of you more keen- eyed grammarians have spotted the odd blunder or two in my posts. However, when I do write major pieces I always rely on a good editor to polish my work.  There are many talented editors out there and if you’re looking for someone, I’d highly recommend Stephen Evans, The Freelance Editor.

For those of you who prefer to work on your own, here’s a great list composed by the Online Education  Database:  150 Resources to Help You Write Better, Faster, and More Persuasively. The following list is excerpted  from their section on English Language Skills.

1. English Grammar FAQ: A simple and easy-to-use list of common English language problems and how to solve them. This list was compiled through an extensive archive of postings to alt.usage.english by John  Lawler, Linguistics, U. Michigan, Ann Arbor.
2. 50Tools to Increase Your Writing Skills: Offered by Poynter Online, these tips are clever and wise. Although Poynter is geared toward journalists, this list is geared toward any writer.
3. Gender-Fair Language: This short guide will help you to avoid gender-specific discrimination in your writing and speech.
4. Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization for Technical Writers and Editors: Although this comprehensive guide is geared toward technical writing, its easy-to-use format and easy-to-understand explanations  would benefit any writer.
5. Guide to Grammar and Style: Written by Jack Lynch, this site provides grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and suggestions on usage that Lynch put together for his classes.
6. Guide to Grammar and Writing: Choose from several modules that will help you to determine how to structure your writing. The Capital Community College Foundation sponsors the Guide to Grammar and Writing.
7. Hypergrammar: The University of Ottawa provides a heavily linked explanation to all things proper in English grammar. This is a comprehensive one-stop shop for structure, spelling, and punctuation.
8. Style Guide: This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist. It provides hints on how to use syntax, metaphors, punctuation, and more.
9. The Elements of Style: William Strunk, Jr. wrote the classic reference book for any student and conscientious writer. Bartleby.com offers the entire book free online.
10. Verbix: Did he lay or lie? Which tense should you use? If you’re confused, this English conjugator will help you to determine how to use verbs in the proper tense. You can also Ask Oxford if you’d prefer.

Photo by Margaret Vincent

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