After finishing this chapter, you should have more than enough information to help you understand basic grammar and punctuation prescriptions and to avoid common errors. And one of the strengths of the Web is that it contains a great variety of guides to grammar, style, punctuation, and other writing issues you might encounter, all of which are right at your fingertips if you’re writing at a computer with a Web connection. The following activities will familiarize you with resources available on the Web that can help you handle difficult grammar and punctuation issues.

Familiarize Yourself with Web Grammar and Punctuation Resources

By now you might be familiar with some of the grammar and punctuation resources on the Web, particularly those that have been created by writing centers at colleges and universities. If you haven’t used any of these sites yet, look over Purdue University’s list of Writing Labs & Writing Centers on the Web and check out a few. Some of the better online resources include:

After familiarizing yourself with these or other sites, think about the specific grammar and punctuation difficulties you might have when you write. At the various Web sites you’ve looked at, find discussions and exercises that help you solve these difficulties. Then develop an annotated list of grammar and punctuation resources on the Web. For each resource, include a brief description of the problems that the site usefully covers. If possible, construct your annotated list as a Web page with direct links to the useful pages at each site.

Develop Your Own Grammar and Style Guide

A particularly useful resource on the Web is Jack Lynch’s Guide to Grammar and Style. Take a look at Lynch’s extensive guide to grammar and style issues. Then imagine that you’re developing a writing standards guide for your company or class. Review the technical documents that you and others in your class or company have written as part of your work. Make a list of the common grammar, punctuation, and style issues that you and your group might have problems with. Then collectively develop your own standards for solving these problems. Be sure to address issues of using hyphens and punctuating lists.

Familiarize Yourself with Resources for Non-native English Speakers

If you’re a technical professional who must write in English even though it is not your native language, you might have specific types of difficulties with grammar and punctuation. Fortunately, the Web contains a wealth of ESL (English as a Second Language) resources for helping non-native English speakers solve grammar and punctuation issues. If you’re a non-native English speaker, you might already be familiar with some of these resources. If not, locate some ESL resources on the Web. To do this, try using one of the search engines to search on both “ESL” and “grammar” or “punctuation.” Another useful starting point is Dave Sperling’s ESL Cafe or Dr. Rongchang Li’s English as a Second Language Website.

After finding at least three or four Websites that discuss various ESL-specific grammar and punctuation difficulties, think about some of the difficulties you have in your own writing. Find the resources that help best explain how to solve these difficulties. Then develop your own annotated list of ESL grammar and punctuation resources on the Web. For each resource, include a brief description of the problems that the site usefully covers. If possible, construct your annotated list as a Web page with direct links to the useful pages at each site.

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