Editing, and conforming to the rules of grammar, is the greatest gift you can give your writing. Knowing that you need grammatical help is okay.
If you can edit your writing, you know at least some grammar, and the willingness to look up what you don’t know only makes your writing better.
Know this. Grammar is like a skeleton: a strong, everlasting structure. It holds your writing together in a cohesive, steady way. It holds your words in a predictable, expected place. Grammar is also a guidance counselor that shows language how to act, what to do, and when.
Grammar is important.
What you don’t want grammar to be is a boorish boss who expects you to struggle with your job, and talks to you in a demeaning way.
Know that there’s help for your grammatical woes. Lots of help. Here’s a short list of resources to use as you write content:
Grammarly.com – an online app, sign up for the free tool, which assists you with grammar problems as you work across the internets. You can also load it into Office where it works as your aide de camp when the English language lobs you a grammar grenade.
quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl– Home of Minon Fogarty and her Grammar Girl expertise. Who doesn’t love a girl who uses proper grammar?
owl.english.purdue.edu/Purdue Online Writing Lab – This site offers tons of advice on the writing process, rhetoric and logic, style and language, and a whole lot more.
In addition, Dictionary.com keeps your spelling accurate, and on its home page is a tab for Thesaurus.com, which gives you better words to use in your writing when your tendency is to use the same old boring ones. I keep this open on my desktop for quick checks, and I admit to visiting both tabs quite a bit.
chicagomanualofstyle.org – and excellent site if you are writing a longer piece, maybe a workbook or course program, and want consistency in language, punctuation, and editorial style.
Go forth and know your writing has support from a ton of authoritative sites. You are not seeking grammatical perfection, but a consistency in quality. You want to be read, so write well.
Remember, above all: Grammar is a guidance counselor, not a boorish boss.
Do you feel better about editing now?