My Hobby

Today in class,
(I call it the "Tutor Training" class but most refer to it as "the 303 class")
we talked about grammar. Not really a whole lot was covered, but we went over some terms.
Someone in class mentioned that it was difficult to use these terms such as "comma splice" or "sentence fragment" Do we really need to know all of them? Is it necessary to know the names of the grammar tools we are using?

Mike said, "You all have hobbies right?" A couple people chatted about shooting guns and photography, they all used specific terms. Mike pointed out that each hobby has its own language and terms used to describe it.

Writing is a hobby of mine. I would love to learn the grammar language and use it in consultations. My goal as a writing consultant is to instill writing and grammar techniques that the writer can use later in life. It might be a far fetched goal, but I've always wanted to change the world. And I think that this is my calling. :)

My question for all of you other writing consultants is this:
What's a grammar tool that you find yourself using in consultations to help writers?
What is your favorite grammar tool? What is one that you think people forget more often than not?

I would love to hear all of your feedback. :)
Thanks for reading!

Comments

  1. Hi Lizzy-
    I'm actually interested in the grammar terms because A)--they really are a "fun, foreign" language to dazzle your friends/family with when you use them in social situations somehow and B)--this grammar language is practical editing knowledge for newspaper jobs, PR agencies, ad agencies, etc. I think grammar term mastery is practically a "trade" today not just random academic knowledge/jargon.

    I look forward to learning them and our future class discussions about them.

    I don't really have any good grammar tips (I used to misspell grammar for years [grammer]) BUT my most common mistake is Then/Than usage. I simply have a mental roadblock over proper usage.

    Good post!

    P.S. Driving home from class I pulled up next to a pickup truck hauling a small camper but inside the bed of the truck were clearly identifiable antlers from some "beast" which lay inside. The driver/hunter simply, roughly covered the beast with a tarp. Those antlers were huge! How random!

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  2. A grammar tool that I find can be really helpful to whip out during a session is sentence diagramming. Even if the writer is not familiar with sentence diagramming, breaking a sentence apart visually can be a helpful way to show students structural needs and choices when building a sentence.

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  3. We should make a set of grammar flash cards and randomly hold one up to each other, maybe that would help us remember them. I have a hard time with the actual terms although I know what they describe. I get a daily email with a new vocabulary word, its definition, and its use in a sentence. Granted, I probably only actually memorize and use one in twenty, but it's still something that works for me. Maybe a daily email with a grammar term would work. I'll go Google for it, there's probably one out there. Quick - gerund! hee hee

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