The Three Most Important Grammar Lessons for a Better Writing

Worked for me, and hopefully will work for you as well

Preface

I got acquainted with speaking and writing English through ‘Non-academic’ sources.

Non- Academic? What is that?

Non-academic is a word I like to call it, because I grasped the different nuances of the English language through my experiences — Watching, Hearing & Reading. The one thing that is missing here that made all the difference is ‘Learning’. I flunked in school, not just in languages, but all subjects. I missed the ‘Academic’ learning

Academic Learning?, I guess I know what it is

Yes, you would have guessed it right. It is the good old English lessons from the school, which I never paid any attention to, but if you did, good for you. I missed the entire grammar section — verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, tenses- well, I missed them all. And it cost me a lot!

I Never Knew the Difference Between Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns Until a Year Back

I am not kidding, I never knew the difference. But I was good at speaking and writing English. I have to thank Hollywood & Ernst Hemingway for it. I learned to speak English from the movies and some books of Ernst Hemingway that I have read. I was a huge fan of Hemingway!

I had this natural sense of what sounds right and what sounds wrong. Do you have that? If you do, though you might think it is a good thing, it is actually a bad thing!

Academic Learning Made All the Difference

If you have missed this part just like me, I am urging you to take it up.

Though reading will give you plenty of ideas to put your words beautifully, you still need the ‘clinical’ or the ‘academic’ approach to make it right.

If you want your writings to be taken seriously, you need to know the basics. With that, I will move on to the ‘Three-Step Process’ that can improve your writing very quickly. This is not everything, but this is something you can begin with and will give you a lot of confidence while you write.

The Three Crucial Lessons

The three crucial lessons refer to the ‘pods’ or ‘modules’ of the English language that one needs to master. It is going to be a sequential step by step academic learning process that can improve your writing skills. This is by no means an easy way but requires your time and dedication. You will improve as you practice these learnings more often in your writings.

1.The parts of speech

Have a thorough understanding of Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns, Prepositions, Conjunctions and Interjunctions. These are also called the parts of speech.

Why are the parts of speech important? a. You cannot form a correct sentence without a thorough knowledge about the parts of speech.

b.They help you understand the relationship between different words that you want to put together ins a sentence.

c.They help you add proper grammar to the sentence. Without knowing the parts of speech, you will never know where to use singular or plural

d. Understanding parts of speech is also crucial in determining how to correctly punctuate the sentences

e. Thorough knowledge in parts of speech also helps you with the second step- ‘Sentence Structure and Types of Sentences’

2. Sentence structure and the types of sentences

Like I mentioned above, this is directly linked with the parts of speech. Without knowing step 1, you cannot learn step 2.

Learn the definition of everything that is listed below:

a. Independent Clause

b. Dependent Clause

c.Prepositional Phrase

d.Simple Sentences

e.Compound Sentences

f. Complex Sentences

g.Compound-Complex Sentences

Why is knowing the different sentence structures and types important?

Because knowing this is your way into writing amazing sentences that convey whatever you want to convey. This knowledge will give you the freedom to paint a vivid picture of your thoughts. Breaking your sentences all the time is not always a good idea. There are places where you have to use small sentences and places where you will have to use complex sentences. Learn this and you learn how to use it in your writing.

3. Active and Passive Voices

Active and Passive voice misuses are the most common mistakes every writer make. It is a simple idea to learn, but difficult to get habituated with. Active and Passive voices, both have their specialities and purposes. If you master the difference between the two, you will gain the ability to make your writing consistent and engaging.

This Is Not Everything

The above three lessons are a hack, but they are not everything. The English language is pretty flexible, but that being said, knowing the basics of grammar will give you more freedom to put words to your thoughts.

Note: The three lessons is not an exhaustive list of everything that come under the English language rules. It is just a hack to better your writing over a quick period of time.

The Learning Will Be Quicker This Time

We know from our school days that it is always better to understand something and learn than to byheart it, it is also probably one of the frequently suggested tips by the teachers. Do the same thing now, try to understand the concepts of the language. You will find that it will be much quicker this time than when you were in your school. It is also much efficient to learn with examples, there are many sites which explain the different concepts mentioned in the three-step rule with different examples.

Endnote

My writing is not perfect, you may find flaws even with this article. But I have improved my writing considerably by following these three important grammar lessons. This article is for those who have not yet approached the English language academically. But once you approach it that way, you will find the difference.