When I shared the news about my upcoming book, I had no idea what the reaction would be. In fact, I was fairly certain that there wouldn’t be a reaction. But I was oh so wrong, and I’m overwhelmed by gratitude by the congratulations, love, and overall excitement that I received last week. Thank you so much, and I really hope that you enjoy it when it comes out!
Today I want to go into further detail on the book itself.
The Essential Grammar Handbook’s purpose is to educate and help the average person. This might be people who haven’t taken a grammar class in a while, current students who are struggling to understand grammar, or anyone who knows that they’re not writing correctly but don’t know how to change it. Ideally, it will help you. It is an ebook so that you can print it out or just save it on your tablet or computer for easy access.
There are 3 sections and several chapters within each section. I’ve broken it down like this because there’s more to grammar than just punctuation, and some people might already be masters of punctuation while struggling with sentences or another area of grammar. You can read all of it or just what you need to.
The majority of the chapters have rules, examples, and practice elements. This is because changing your writing takes more than just reading the rule. You need to see what it looks like and practice it several times before it sticks. And I’m not saying that just to make you buy it; educators employ what’s called Bloom’s taxonomy to assess student understanding of a topic. The most basic level involves remembering whatever you have just learned, and the most advanced level involves creating something to prove your understanding of it. There are 6 levels, and one of the middle ones is applying. So by applying your new knowledge, you can assess whether or not you understand the grammar rules. When you write with correct grammar after reading and using the book, you are creating something new. So this structure will help you get to the point of mastering your new knowledge!
The practice looks like the following:
Instructions: Correct each sentence. Check the hint section at the end of the practice to see what rule you need to look at if you need help.
1. My soccer coach Coach Healy said he was going to talk to you about the game.
EDIT: The book is now out! Get it here for $10.
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Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.
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