Monday May 9, 2011
Over the past five years, About.com Grammar & Composition has grown to well over 3,000 pages. Unfortunately, as several readers have pointed out, finding the page you're looking for can be a challenge. So the aim of this post is to help you navigate the site.
The best starting point is usually the search box near the top of each page. As long as we're using the same terms, the About.com search engine is fairly effective (though after a rough weekend it just might misdirect you to a forlorn backwater called Netplaces).
Somewhat less helpful are the four horizontal tabs at the top of (almost) every page:
The links on these pages take you to the most popular articles in
some of the major categories, but the lists are hardly comprehensive.
For a full site directory (well, almost full), look for the vertical list of 13 categories, beginning with "Writing Tips" and ending with "Grammar & Rhetoric Glossary." Sometimes the list is labeled "Explore" and located near the top of a page. Other times it's called "By Category" and found near the bottom. On the home page, it appears in both spots. (Don't blame me: I'm just the writer, not the designer.) If you have patience and an adventuresome spirit, this directory should eventually steer you to the information you're seeking.
Finally, if you're bored or baffled by these navigational aids, here's a straightforward collection of 12 of the most frequently visited sections of About.com Grammar & Composition.
- The Grammar & Composition Blog
A fresh blog post appears on the Grammar & Composition home page every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Readers are encouraged to respond by clicking on the "comments" link at the end of each post.
- The Weekly Grammar & Composition Newsletter
Delivered every Monday by email, the Grammar & Composition Newsletter provides links to the previous week's blog entries and to other recently posted articles, essays, and exercises. To receive the newsletter, enter your email address in the "sign up" box near the top of any page on the site.
- The Grammar & Composition Forum
The Grammar & Composition Forum is a place where you can ask and answer questions concerning points of English grammar and usage. To join the conversation, simply go here, click on "Register," fill in the few required items, and hit "I accept."
- Glossary of Grammatical & Rhetorical Terms
What started out as a modest glossary has evolved into one of the Web's most extensive collections of language-related terms in English--over 1,400 words and counting. In addition to definitions and examples for each entry, you'll find observations from a wide range of authorities and detailed cross-references. The Glossary of Grammatical & Rhetorical Terms is updated daily.
- Classic Essays and Speeches
Many instructors of composition, speech, and creative nonfiction rely on our collection of over 200 Classic British and American Essays and Speeches. One or two pieces are added every week, and some are accompanied by study questions.
- Sentence Combining Exercises
An alternative to traditional methods of grammar instruction, sentence combining gives students practice in manipulating a variety of sentence structures. Start with the article What Is Sentence Combining and How Does It Work? At the bottom of that page you'll find links to the 22 building and combining exercises on this site.
- Exercises and Quizzes
In the category of Exercises and Quizzes, you'll find links to dozens of tests and exercises that offer additional practice in correctly and effectively using words, composing sentences, and developing paragraphs and essays.
- Writers on Writing
In the 60 articles collected in Writers on Writing: Advice From the Pros, professional authors share their thoughts on topics that cover all stages of the writing process and all aspects of the writing life.
- A Scrapbook of Styles
These brief excerpts from essays, short stories, autobiographies, and novels--most of which were published over the past 50 years--illustrate some of the key stylistic traits of their well-known authors. You'll find more than 100 passages in A Scrapbook of Styles.
- Rhetoric and Style
Among other resources at Rhetoric and Style, you'll find dozens of articles that examine and illustrate the figures of speech--from Love Is a Metaphor to the Ten Greatest Hyperboles of All Time.
- Topic Suggestions for Essays and Speeches
This section is for students who find that coming up with a good topic is the hardest part of the composing process. The prompts and suggestions at 400 Writing Topics are organized into 11 broad categories.
- Commonly Confused Words
To view our ever-expanding collection of confusables (with examples and exercises), go to the Glossary of Usage: Index of Commonly Confused Words.
Final words of warning. The little "Home" link at the top of every page will never take you to the Grammar & Composition home page. And the
auto-generated lists of "Related Articles" found on many pages are often comically unrelated to anything else on the site.
Thanks for visiting About.com Grammar & Composition. If you still can't find what you're looking for, you might try clicking on "comments" below.
Friday May 6, 2011
These aren't exactly the Big Questions about the mysteries of the English language. But they are the sorts of questions that show up in my mailbox every day.
For more detailed explanations than those offered here, follow the links to Grammar Questions and Answers.
- What is a split infinitive--and what's wrong with it?
The so-called split infinitive is a construction in which one or more words come between the particle to and the verb--as in "to boldly go where no man has gone before." And put simply, there's nothing wrong with it. . . . Read more
- How many spaces go after a period?
On a word processor, put just one space after a period. If you grew up using a typewriter, you were probably taught to hit the space bar twice. But like the typewriter itself, that custom fell out of fashion years ago. . . . Read more
- Which words in a title should be capitalized?
Style manuals disagree on which words to capitalize in a title. Here's a basic guide to the two most common methods: sentence case and title case. . . . Read more
- What is the preferred way to write the abbreviation for United States?
As it happens, there's more than one preferred way. In general, newspaper style guides recommend U.S. (periods, no space). However, scientific style guides say to omit periods in capitalized abbreviations, thus US (no periods, no space). . . . Read more
- Is it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?
No, a preposition is not a bad word to end a sentence with. Even in our grandparents' day a preposition was not a bad word to end a sentence with. What we have here is another usage myth. . . . Read more
- In a list of three or more items, should a comma go before and?
With the notable exception of the AP Stylebook, most American style guides recommend using the serial comma. On the other hand, most British style guides discourage its use unless the items in the series are long or potentially confusing. . . . Read more
- What do the code words Alfa, Bravo, and Charlie stand for?
In the NATO phonetic alphabet, these represent the letters A, B, and C. More formally known as the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, the NATO phonetic alphabet is used by airline pilots, police, the military, and other officials to ensure that letters are clearly understood when transmitted by radio or telephone. . . . Read more
- What is the International Phonetic Alphabet?
The IPA is the most widely used system of phonetic symbols for representing the speech sounds of any language. . . . Read more
- Is it wrong to begin a sentence with But?
No. It has been common practice to begin sentences with conjunctions since at least as far back as the 10th century. . . . Read more
- What is the correct pronunciation of February?
While "Feb-RU-ary" is still considered the standard pronunciation, most dictionaries recognize the pronunciation of February without the first "r" ("Feb-U-ary") as an acceptable variant. . . . Read more
To pass along a question about English grammar or usage, click on the comments button below.
Wednesday May 4, 2011
Most would agree that editing is the least appreciated stage of the writing process. Whereas discovering, drafting, and revising are all generally thought of as creative activities, editing is often regarded as a tedious exercise in fixing mistakes--a job better left to fussbudgets with green eyeshades and red pens.
But such a view misses the point that editing is an essential part of writing, not just a cosmetic afterthought.
Strictly defined as "preparing a text for publication," editing involves adding, deleting, and rearranging words along with recasting sentences and cutting the clutter. Tightening our writing and mending faults can turn out to be a remarkably creative activity, leading us to clarify ideas, fashion fresh images, and even radically rethink the way we approach a topic. Put another way, thoughtful editing can inspire further revision of our work.
So whether you edit on your own or with the help of others, take a look at our Checklist for Editing Paragraphs and Essays. Sure, it's designed to help you find and correct errors. But in the process it should also help you write more effectively and creatively.
More About Editing:
Image: Arthur Quiller-Couch on Style: "Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it--wholeheartedly--and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings."
Monday May 2, 2011
If you teach writing, you should write.
Composition professor Maxine Hairston offered this "elementary but radical insight" in an article published 25 years ago in the journal Rhetoric Review. "The writing teacher who doesn't write," she said, "is in no more position to diagnose difficulties and offer advice than a soccer coach who has never played soccer."
But Hairston acknowledged that this basic principle can be difficult to put into practice. After all, serious writing demands hard work, and the all-consuming job of teaching students how to write leaves faculty with little time for their own writing.
Yet it can be done, she insisted. And despite the inevitable frustrations, the effort to write can be exhilarating and rewarding.
To encourage teachers (and, by extension, all would-be writers), Hairston provided these ten practical suggestions:
- Start small.
Reduce the risk and ease your anxieties by starting with a piece of nonacademic writing. Offer to do the newsletter for your homeowners' association or for the local chapter of the Sierra Club. You're guaranteed an interested audience, and it will get you started producing something. . . .
- Write from interest.
[B]rainstorm to find some professional issue or hobby that you would really like to write about rather than try to think up some new angle on a currently popular topic. When you are trying to get started writing, you don't need the extra handicap of working on a topic that bores you. . . .
- Trust your subconscious to generate material for you.
Remember that your subconscious has stored a wealth of material for you to harvest through the act of writing, and finding out what is in that storehouse is one of the joys of writing. . . .
- Don't take beginnings too seriously.
Write anything in order to lay down tracks to run on, as James Britton calls it. Words are cheap and you know lots of them--you can throw them away if they don't turn out right. . . .
- Start out with low standards.
Expect to stumble along, having a hard time finding the words you want and not liking much of what comes out. Don't despise those banal phrases and lifeless sentences. You can come back and tinker with them later. . . .
- Expect to be slow.
Be satisfied to do a little at a time. If you finish only one paragraph or page in an hour or a morning, that's one more paragraph or page than you had when you started. . . .
- Make yourself write at certain times every week or turn out a certain number of pages even if you don't have a specific project.
Don't worry if you don't see any immediate form or purpose--just work with your words for a while to see what is going to happen. . . .
- Get help from your friends.
Try to form a writing community of three or four people who want to write and help each other by brainstorming for ideas and commenting on each other's drafts. . . . Even if you can't get together a writing group, find at least one fellow writer to give you feedback.
- Don't berate yourself about occasional spells of procrastination.
Almost all writers have them, and they can actually be productive if you don't let yourself panic. . . Give yourself a day or two of rest and start again. The words will come.
- Have confidence in yourself.
You are an educated and intelligent person with something to say and the tools to express yourself. You have only to pick up some of the journals or thumb through feature sections of the paper to see that people with no more talent or resources than you are managing to write and get published. It's not that hard. It takes staying power more than anything else.
(Maxine Hairston, "When Writing Teachers Don't Write: Speculations About Probable Causes and Possible Cures." Rhetoric Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, Fall 1986)
Hairston spent her entire teaching career at the University of Texas at Austin and, among other leadership roles, served as chair of the Conference of College Composition and Communication. She wrote several major textbooks, including Successful Writing (now in its fifth edition), and in 2002 some of her former graduate students published Against the Grain: A Volume in Honor of Maxine Hairston (Hampton Press). She died on July 22, 2005, at the age of 83.
More About Getting Started:
Image: Successful Writing, 5th ed., by Maxine Hairston and Michael Keene (W. W. Norton & Company, 2003)
