Correct grammar
Nearly the last worry for good writers

Poor writers sweat over correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling as they write. By contrast, correctness is one of the last things good writers think about.

Good writers understand that their first job is to find something to say. If they don't have anything worth saying, correct writing mechanics won't save them.

What professional writers do

I'm sure you've heard that most professional writers don't edit their work as they compose. If they try to correct as they compose, they may lose their train of thought. Professional writers usually leave corrections until after they finish writing.

The English ed community has taken that observation to mean that all writers should do all their planning, all their composing, and all their revising before they edit any of it.

Let's use our heads, folks.

We cannot expect the procedures John McPhee uses to work for 14-year-old Josh McPhool.

Professionals can do some things because they are professionals that beginners cannot do because they are beginners.

Even the pros correct some errors as they write. If they type comet instead of camel, they will correct that error instead of writing until the final draft and hoping they see it then.

What the pros don't do is scrutinize each sentence for correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage as they compose it. They save the serious search for errors until they are sure the paper contains all the content it needs in the right order.

Also, professional writers make far fewer serious errors as they write than beginners do. (That's why they are professionals.)

If Josh's writing skeleton is such a mess even Josh can't decipher it, you aren't going to help him by telling him to hold off on corrections until after he's finished his first draft.

One pro tip for novices should try

One practice of professional writers that does work well for beginners is revising work before editing it.

Revision involves adding, subtracting, and rearranging content so the draft follows the writer's comprehensive plan.

It makes little sense to correct errors in portions that need to be deleted.

The expository writing process is plan, compose, revise, edit.

Modify pros' strategies to fit beginners

Like the pros, even beginning writers can wait to correct grammar arrears until they finish drafting. But unlike the pros, beginners need to correct there grammar errors when they finish their work at every stage of the the writing process.

Notice the typo in that last sentence? Does it make sense for me to wait to correct it until I've written all the pages for the web site? Of course not. I need to edit when I finish each page.

Similarly before Josh can say he's finished drafting a working thesis he must:

• Correct his spelling in the thesis sentence.
• Correct his grammar in the thesis sentence.
• Correct his punctuation in the thesis sentence.

Before Josh can say he's finished drafting his writing skeleton™, he must:

• Correct his spelling in those three sentences.
• Correct his grammar in those three sentences.
• Correct his punctuation those three sentences.

Before Josh can say he's finished drafting his comprehensive plan, he must:

• Correct his spelling in the plan.
• Correct his grammar in the plan.
• Correct his punctuation in the plan.

I don't think I need to go on, do I? You get the picture: every time students must produce written evidence of their progress, they should correct that document before they go on to the next stage of writing development.

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Note: Learn how to phrase English rules so students correct grammar errors by visiting the goals and objectives thread you'll find in the left hand navigation menu.