A good foundation in English grammar and sentence structure takes a lot of work to build. If you find yourself in College level English courses with weak writing and editing skills, it’s urgent that you take extra time on a regular basis to develop your knowledge of the building blocks of English.
Luckily, you have tons of online grammar sites to choose from that can help you develop your knowledge. You might call this type of independent study “choose your own adventure”-style research. The key idea to keep in mind is that you will find some sites very helpful, and others less so. I can’t tell you which site will work best for you; it’s up to you to find the one that makes the lessons “click” in your mind. I find that with this type of self study, what works for one person may not always work for another in terms of website presentation, format, examples, and quizzes.
As you work through different sites to see if they are a good match for your learning style, I suggest you bookmark them in your web browser and keep detailed notes about your observations and preferences for future reference.
Hopefully, you will feel comfortable exploring the recommended websites below. However if you want more specific recommendations, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, if you run into a site you like, and it is not listed here, please share it with me so I can add it to the collection.
- The Basic Elements of English: An Interactive Guide to Grammar. This site contains grammar tutorials offered by the English Department at the University of Calgary.
- The Guide to Grammar and Writing is an Interactive site with tutorials on sentence-level grammar, paragraph level grammar and coherence, as well as essay-level concerns. It is sponsored by the Capital Community College Foundation, a nonprofit 501 c-3 organization that supports scholarships, faculty development, and curriculum innovation.
- Purdue Online Writing Lab “General Writing Resources” provides a Table of Contents with links to resources on everything you need to know about the nuts and bolts of writing well.
- Grammar Bytes! Grammar Instruction with Attitude is an online portal to grammar help in several different formats. It presents info in instructional pages, Powerpoints, YouTube videos, and it also has useful quizzes for self-assessment.
- Grammar Girl Podcasts: “Your friendly guide to the world of grammar, punctuation, usage, and fun developments in the English language.” These are great for auditory learners.
Last update: October 22, 2016