Everyone makes grammar errors, even native speakers of English. Not everyone has developed good strategies for improving grammar errors. With practice and patience you will be able to slowly eliminate most of the errors in your writing, but you must develop a plan. Even if you have spoken English for many years, writing usually takes more consistent practice. Written errors are usually more noticeable than spoken errors. Here are some strategies that you can try:

1. Ask someone to help you diagnose your consistent grammatical errors.
   Always pay close attention to these types of errors when editing. (Your teacher would be happy to diagnose these errors, or you can visit the Writing Lab on your campus to have someone help you with this diagnosis.)
2. Separate the task of editing for ideas from the task of editing for grammar mistakes.
   Always work on ideas first and then work only on grammatical corrections in a separate editing session. Never try to do everything at once. This means that you will probably not be able to sit down the night before the assignment is due to write a piece. You will need to write ideas and organize your thoughts on paper first. When you are satisfied with the ideas, concentrate only on the grammar, forgetting the ideas and organizational issues. If you can leave some time between the two types of editing tasks, the editing for grammar will usually be more effective. Many native speakers can do both types of editing together, but very few non-native speakers of English can focus on both grammar and ideas at the same time. Although it seems that this process will take more time, it will probably speed up your writing in the end and you will have a better final draft.
3. Slow down your reading when editing.
   Try reading aloud, one sentence at a time. Stop at the end of each sentence and think about the structures. For some writers it helps to read from the bottom of the page to the top, so that you must think about sentence structure instead of ideas. Isolate your focus by using an envelope or blank sheet of paper under each line you are reading. This will force you to focus on a more limited section.
4. Ask someone to circle, but not correct your remaining errors so that you can continue to discover your own errors instead of depending on someone else to correct your errors.
5. Consistently ask yourself questions about your troublespots, focusing on each type of grammar problem separately when you begin.
   Focus on questions like: Is this noun singular or plural? Does the verb, and other words related to this verb, agree with the noun? When did the action take place? Does the verb agree with the time?
6. Make a plan for remembering common grammatical errors.
   Keep a list of common errors and corrections you have made. Review these corrections often. Some people keep a notebook with a page or two for each category of common errors (like articles, prepositions, etc.) with space under each category to write corrected errors.
7. Try to use the changes (corrections) you have learned in your everyday speech.
   This may include working on changing pronunciation patterns. For example, saying “ed” and “s” endings in speech will reinforce correct writing as well. We tend to write the same way as we speak.

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