Happy National Grammar Day!

https://youtu.be/RPoBE-E8VOc

Quick, what day of the year is also a complete sentence?

Why, March 4th, of course! (March forth!) It’s also National Grammar Day. This holiday was established 10 years ago by Martha Brockenbrough, the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG). While SPOGG seems to have been disbanded, her book can be found here. Good grammar is imperative in academic writing, but also in everyday life. So what is grammar? Glad you asked. On the most basic level, grammar is the way in which words are put together to build proper sentences, according to the Oxford Dictionary. It also involves all of the rules about sentence construction, word usage, and punctuation.

Every holiday involves some celebration, so here are some ideas to celebrate National Grammar Day:

Grab a red pen and read a newspaper or magazine, looking for errors! Writers and journalists are only human, and no one’s perfect. Even in esteemed publications like the New York Times, there are errors. Go mark it up!

Read a book on grammar! Favorites here include the ultimate book on writing, Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style; Eats, Shoots & Leaves; and Woe is I: The Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English. Better yet, why not treat yourself to a hard copy of the style guide used in your discipline? Though your school might give you a “cheat sheet” of the most common formatting problems or guidelines, the actual style guides are full of helpful tips, guidelines, and information. The Publication Manual of the APA, the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Handbook, the Turabian Manual for Writers, and The Bluebook are all wonderful guides to keep on hand.

Commit to learning one new grammar rule per day for a month.

Have a blast from the past and watch old episodes of Schoolhouse Rock on YouTube and sing along to the songs about grammar.

Here at DE, we’re big fans of grammar. You could say it’s kind of our thing – but we know not everyone feels the same. If you need assistance with editing, proofreading, or formatting, feel free to drop us a line at info@dissertation-editor.com. We’d be happy to talk with you about your project, and see how we can be of assistance to help you with your grammar or formatting needs.

Here's a joke to send you off for the day:

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Two.

Two who?

To whom. < Conferences, Part 2: Are You Ready for a National Conference? Conferences, Part 1: Presenting Your Dissertation Research at a Graduate Conference >