Here is a collection of many important grammar tips to remember when writing an essay:
- Use the pronouns it and this sparingly
- Eliminate to be verbs
- When writing about literature, ALWAYS use the present tense
- Use the pronoun one in your essays rather than the pronoun you
- Write in active voice
- By often indicates passive voice
- Which is a relative pronoun that indicates a non-essential clause; therefore, this relative pronoun should have a preposition or comma preceding it.
- That is a relative pronoun that indicates an essential clause; therefore, this relative pronoun should NOT have a preposition or comma preceding it.
- Than and as need to make equal comparisons. Think of a crane picking up the noun on the left side of the comparison and moving it to the right side!
- The apostrophe always goes at the end of the word that is doing the owning. If the tree house belongs to one boy, it is the boy’s tree house; if the tree house belongs to many boys, it is the boys’ tree house.
- The dash is considered more forceful than a comma. Use if you want to highlight an idea.
- A simple sentence (noun…verb) is powerful when surrounded by a compound and complex sentence
- Vary your sentence structure – each paragraph should contain a period, semi-colon, compound sentence containing a conjunction, and a comma indicating a complex sentence
- Where = direction and when = time
- Check all dates and time periods to make sure tense is correct
- It’s = it is; its = possessive
- A balanced sentence is one in which related actions, ideas, and descriptions are presented in the same form. When a sentence does this, it utilizes parallel structure.