Chapter 5 - Improving your writing: grammar and self-editing. On completion of this chapter students will know how to: identify ways to improve writing independently, develop a strategic approach to editing written work, understand the basic features of specific grammatical constructions. | Chapter 5 Improving your writing: grammar and self-editing Learning objectives On completion of this chapter students will know how to: identify ways to improve writing independently develop a strategic approach to editing written work understand the basic features of specific grammatical constructions. Grammatical constructions addressed in this chapter Subject/verb agreement Parallel construction Verb tense Article use The apostrophe Word form Passive tenses Gerunds and infinitives So, neither and nor Still and yet Be proactive about learning how to write well Students who adopt an independent and proactive approach to their language development are likely to make better progress than those who simply hope the problem of language will disappear. How can you improve your English language skills? Investigate any language support services your university offers, whether as workshops or online. In some universities you can make appointments with trained staff to discuss | Chapter 5 Improving your writing: grammar and self-editing Learning objectives On completion of this chapter students will know how to: identify ways to improve writing independently develop a strategic approach to editing written work understand the basic features of specific grammatical constructions. Grammatical constructions addressed in this chapter Subject/verb agreement Parallel construction Verb tense Article use The apostrophe Word form Passive tenses Gerunds and infinitives So, neither and nor Still and yet Be proactive about learning how to write well Students who adopt an independent and proactive approach to their language development are likely to make better progress than those who simply hope the problem of language will disappear. How can you improve your English language skills? Investigate any language support services your university offers, whether as workshops or online. In some universities you can make appointments with trained staff to discuss your written work. Invest some money in a self-study grammar book with answers. Ask university staff for advice on useful texts. Approach your university librarian for suggestions on how they can help you to improve your language and the resources and services they offer. Activity 1 Write down the resources available in your university that can help you to improve your English language. Discuss the options you have tried and recommend some to other students. Common grammatical errors Errors are easy to overlook, particularly when working within tight deadlines. Not all errors are detected by computer grammar checkers so edit your work after you have used the software. Remember: Poor grammar may change your meaning or make your ideas difficult to understand. Sentence structure There are two kinds of common error in writing sentences: incomplete sentences ‘run-on’ (or run-together) sentences. Complete sentences A complete sentence must contain a subject and a predicate.
