Grammar

Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2005
Posts
6,901
Location
London
I feel embarrassed writing this but more importantly I would like your advice.

Basically work had a go at me for writing a report that wasn't up to standard and thinking about it, I've come to the conclusion that my confidence and dyslexia isn't helping but more so, the fact I need to dramatically improve my writing skills is a priority right now.

I originally failed GCSE English at school (F). I retook it at college and I got a C. While I cannot write excellent overnight, I would like some advice as to how how I can take things forward. In the mean time I purchased a monthly subscription to Grammarly (Grammar check) which does explain flaws in some examples of my writing.

Any advice?

Thanks in advanced. :-)
 
If you've never read it then Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss comes highly recommended, I've got to admit that I've never read it myself but have bought it for a couple of people and they've enjoyed it.

Might it also be worth enrolling on a writing course at a local college/nightschool and explain to them that it's primarily to improve your grammar but also the fluency in your writing that you've taken it?
 
The biggest, easiest and single most effective nugget of advice I can give is to read back what you've written. I write all the time (being a writer I sort of have to!) and I still make mistakes all over the place. Simple mistakes, too.

Nobody writes perfecly on the first go, but many people submit that draft anyway.

If you want to post an excerpt of your report it would be useful for the OCuk editors!
 
"The table was bought by the lady with square legs"

My wife writes very well indeed, (prose, poetry) if you’ve read some NHS publications you might have read some of her work.

She puts her good grammar down to reading profusely. She has suggested that I buy a book called "First Aid in English" (later edition: The New First Aid in English).

If I’m reading a book in her company and I don’t know a word, I will ask her what it means, 99.99% of the time she will know the answer.

She suggests that when I read I have two books, the original and a dictionary (with a piece of paper and a pencil) and when I come across words I don’t understand I write them down on a piece of paper, find their meaning in a dictionary and then try to construct sentences using those words.

She suggests that if I keep an organised list by book title, word and its definition I should improve and if I were to look back on the lists later I should be surprised that I had NOT understood the word in the first place.

I’m too old and too lazy to take her advice and after all it’s easier for me to ask her!
 
Firstly, and without wanting to make this sound like alcoholics anonymous, well done for being brave enough to admit that there is a problem and come here looking for advice. I of all people know that web forums can be a bit brutal on that front.

Secondly, how much of a factor would you say your dyslexia is? I can well imagine that it would damage your confidence. I assume it's been diagnosed by a doctor and so on. Have they been able to do anything about it? I know some people have some success with special types of glasses, with coloured filters and the like. Perhaps that's worth a look?

Thirdly, you are by no means alone. I've worked for a couple of firms of accountants in my time, and some of the stuff that gets sent out of the door by people is shocking. I've had to bite my tongue on occasion to stop myself from criticising the writing of people several grades above me.

How much do you read? I don't know how easy you find it, if your dyslexia gets in the way, but reading well written books is one of the best ways to learn good sentence structure, grammar and so on. It will also widen your vocabulary, which is a bonus. You don't need to be reading anything particularly high brow or intellectual, just so long as it is well edited. Try some of the big name authors in whatever field you're interested in - I'm sure someone in the Music, Books, etc forum can suggest some well written authors that you could try.

As mentioned above, Eats, Shoots and Leaves is a good book as far as a "crash course" in grammar goes. It's a long while since I read it, but as I recall it covers 5 or so key grammatical mistakes that people make that really wind people up. You might find that if you can get the hang of a few of the big mistakes then your writing will be more presentable, even if you're still struggling with other things. That should at least give you some breathing room at work if they're making a fuss about your writing. Just be warned that the book is a bit vigorous in its criticism at times, so don't read it if you're going to be offended that you're making the mistakes the writer is complaining about!

As has been said, proof-reading is very important. You'll probably be surprised at how helpful it is to read back through things that you have written and imagine what it would be like for someone else to read it.

I'd recommend starting with the basics, and getting those under your belt. Start with different types of words - adjectives, nouns, verbs, etc. Look at different tenses, look at verb endings. Get the hang of apostrophes as soon as possible, because that's a really obvious but simple thing to fix. Don't get bogged down with things like semi-colons or when to use whom, or stuff like that. 99% of people don't understand and don't care.

I'm losing my thread now, as a 4 year old has just climbed onto my knee.

If you want to post up particular things that were flagged in the report, feel free, and I'll see what I can do to explain them.
 
Read back what you've written. Use the grammar and spell checker in Word - yes, the grammar checker isn't perfect and the spell checker may not get it right, but they are great for flagging up areas you need to check over.
 
Hi all,
Firstly thank you for all your replies. Sorry for the late reply – I was on training last week.
To answer your questions, my dyslexia is mild although that was formalised 5 years ago so I am not sure how it affects me now.

I don’t read literature but I am willing to learn more on grammar and report writing. I suppose I want to learn fast and in the mean time, reading what I’ve written goes without saying. This is something that I don’t do well but will definitely do thoroughly from now on.

I was going to buy Grammar for dummies but I want something practical. Could you guys recommend me something (grammar and report writing)?
 
Back
Top Bottom