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The Top Five Sites for Correcting Common Sentence Errors

By , About.com Guide

As we point out in the Characteristics of Good Writing, correctness is just one aspect of good, effective writing. Nonetheless, avoiding errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling is an important aspect--especially if a course grade is at stake. The five websites described here focus on the most common errors in English: how to recognize those errors and (more importantly) how to correct them.

1. The Effective Writing Marking Guide

The Department of English at the University of Calgary has prepared an alphabetical index of common writing errors with links to a series of excellent grammar tutorials. The explanations are straightforward, and the examples are clear and concise. Useful for teachers and students alike.
Visit the Effective Writing Marking Guide

2. Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation Exercises

Our favorite OWL--the Purdue University Online Writing Lab--hosts this comprehensive collection of exercises.
Visit the OWL at Purdue

3. 20 Most Common Errors

This site (a companion to Andrea Lunsford's textbook The Everyday Writer) not only explains and illustrates the "most common surface student writing problems" but also provides exercises to help us correct those problems.
Visit the 20 Most Common Errors

4. Big Dog's Grammar: A Bare Bones Guide to English

According to Big Dog's buddy, Doc Scott, this site offers "a list of the bare essentials of grammar. These are the things that English teachers love to comment on in your papers." Particularly helpful are the self-tests at the bottom of each page.
Visit Big Dog's Grammar

5. Rules at Grammar Bytes

Convinced that language should be enjoyed, college instructor Robin L. Simmons has created the most delightful grammar site on the Web. "The goal of the site," she says, "is to cover each type of sentence error in real depth."
Visit Grammar Bytes

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