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learned in school
Grammar can be tough. There are a lot of rules to follow, and a lot to wrap your head
around. Some of the rules we learn in school, though, arent exactly accurate. While some
function as helpful guidelines for style and form, other so-called rules are inventions, or
superstitions, as thelexicographer Henry W. Fowler called them.
Here are some common grammar myths:
relative clauses (they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on)
questions beginning with who, where, what, etc. (what music are you interested in?)
Read the entire post.
using and or butto introduce a sentence is that such a sentence expresses an incomplete
thought (or fragment) and is therefore incorrect. However, this is a stylisticpreference
rather than a grammatical rule.
Learn more about the finer points of conjunction use in Catherine Soaness post.
For example, in the above active example, the victor and loser of the match are made
perfectly clear by the active structure: Spain, the subject of the sentence, beat Brazil,
the object of the sentence, in a match. In the passive example, the information about Spain
is missing, thus the agent of Brazils loss remains unclear what is most important is the
outcome of the game, not the winner.
However, even though the use of the passive voice is perfectly permissible, most people
favor the active voice because of how it provides a fuller account.
Learn more about the passive vs. the active voice.
The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do
not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.
When the verb is active, the subject of the verb is doing the action, as in these
examples:
France
[subject]
[active verb]
speakSpanish.
[subject]
[active verb]
Jack
[subject]
[active verb]
When the verb is passive, the subject undergoes the action rather than doing it:
Brazil
[subject]
[passive verb]
Spanish
[subject]
[passive verb]
The matter
[subject]
[passive verb]
Here, the sentences points of view have changed: Brazil, Spanish, and the matter have
become the subjects of the passive verbs were beaten, is spoken, and will be taken. In
the first example, you can see that the subject of the active verb (France) does not
appear in the corresponding passive version of the sentence. In the other two passive
examples, the former subjects of the active verbs (more than 300 million people; Jack)
are now introduced with the word by.
The person or thing in a passive sentence that does or causes something is called
the agent: more than 300 million people and Jack are the agents of the second and
third passive examples.
These two different ways of using verbs are known asvoices. In everyday writing, the
active voice is much more common than the passive. The passive tends to be used
in formal documents such as official reports or scientific papers, often where an action
or situation is regarded as more significant than who or what did or caused it:
The results were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
A fair grading system was found to be important to all students.
Tense
Passive
Example
present simple
am/are/is + past
participle
present
continuous
present perfect
past simple
was/were + past
participle
past continuous
past perfect
future
future perfect
Always try to keep to one main point per paragraph: make the point at the outset, then
support it with arguments, evidence, or discussion.
You may not keep strictly to your original plan since your thoughts will develop as your
writing proceeds, but make sure that you have anintroduction, a main section (or body),
andconclusion.
Once you have written a rst draft, you might nd it helpful to read it through quickly to
check that you have addressed all the points raised by the question and that you have not
wandered off the subject.
Do not worry about grammar, punctuation, andspelling at this stage: these are matters to
be addressed at the end of the essay-writing process.
Put your rst draft aside for a day or so (if youve planned enough time to do so). This
will give your mind a rest and allow you to look at the essay with a fresh eye later on.
Look at your rst draft critically: think of your reader, and rewrite or sharpen up passages
that seem unclear, rambling, or badly worded. For guidance on language and choosing the
right word, read our top tips for word choice.
Assess the essays structure for logical order andcoherence. Make sure your sentences
and paragraphs are linked and make sense.
You may wish to reconsider the beginning and end of the essay in the light of what you
have written orrevised in the main body of it: does the introduction still clearly state your
approach and does the nal conclusion incorporate and sum up your key arguments?
Check your facts and evidence. Have you provided all the relevant supporting data and
referenced all your sources in a consistent and accurate way?
If you have been asked to keep to a particular word count for the essay, then now is the
time to count the words and reduce or expand your text as necessary.
When you have nished writing and rening it, read the whole essay once more for
clarity, logical structure, and relevance to the question.
Final checks
The nal stage of the essay-writing process should be a thorough proofread.
This is the point at which you must check yourgrammar, spelling, punctuation,
and formatting very carefully.
You should read the essay more than once for such mistakes, and might nd it useful to
ask a friend to proofread your essay as well if they have time: another person can often spot
errors that you might have missed.
Lastly, check that you have attached anysupplementary or supporting material, such as
graphs, tables, or diagrams, and that you have put your name, the date, the essay question
or title, and any other necessary information (such as a module or course title) at the top.