2 Using This Guidebook
KEY CONCEPTS
The primary purpose of this book is to help beginning media writers avoid common errors.
Outside resources, such as Purdue OWL and a dictionary, may be helpful as you work through most chapters in this book.
Over the course of several semesters of teaching, many journalism instructors compile a list of grammar grievances. Those are the most common mistakes they see in student writing.
If your instructors simply tell you to study grammar, spelling and punctuation on your own, you may feel overwhelmed. Where do you start? What should you study?
This online guidebook, based on common errors in journalistic writing, breaks the task into smaller pieces with a clear goal to eliminate common mistakes.
The guidebook focuses mainly on identifying and correcting common usage errors. It is not a grammar book or a dictionary, but it will refer to some traditional English grammar terminology, such as parts of speech.
If you are unfamiliar with grammar terms or need a refresher, one of your best resources is Purdue OWL.
- Parts of Speech Overview – Purdue OWL
With quick web search, you should be able to locate other resources, including English Club and Grammar Bank.
When you study this guidebook, especially if you are working independently, you may first want to peruse the content to identify your own needs. You may, for example, have a solid understanding of pronoun usage but make lots of mistakes with apostrophes. Thus, you could initially focus on the three parts of the punctuation section that specifically cover apostrophes.
Because this OER is presented in a book-like structure, the interactive elements may be more convenient on a standard screen, such as a laptop or tablet computer. However, the display will automatically reformat for reading on a smaller screens, such as a smartphone.
WRITING EXERCISE
Carefully write three sentences about your background in studying grammar, spelling and punctuation. What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses? To what extent have you studied grammar, spelling and punctuation in the past?
