Grammar Tips (SPAG)

In this class, we will discuss all the most common punctuation and grammar errors I've encountered as a reviewer on Fan Story, which are, by the way, the same errors I found most frequently in teaching writing for over thirty years in middle school, high school and college. We will also target the specific difficulties students in the class report having.
Chances are good that if you have a problem, you share it with thousands of other writers. In this embarrassment-free zone, you can ask anything.

In Week One we will identify any and all specific issues members of the class want to cover, problems you know you have but continue to grapple with.
In Week Two we will begin to address those issues, and I suspect several students in class will share the same difficulties. Based on what you report as individual needs in Week One, I will have examples ready for discussion and practice exercises available for both group and individual help.
In Week Three we will continue with problems not yet covered in Week Two. I do not want to overwhelm anyone with too many "fixes" all at once. We will discuss each issue in depth and use multiple examples for each, to allow time for concepts to sink in. For instance, if commas are a problem for students, and I suspect they will be, we can take up an entire week with their various uses (and misuses).
In Week Four I will cover any issues students have not brought up that still need covering. If the class is breezing through each problem, we can move onto more difficult concepts. On the other hand, if people still need more time with what we've been discussing, we will go over more examples and do more exercises. The point of the class is not to whip through every rule in the writing manuals no matter how obscure, but to conquer those problems that actually plague you.
And because there is always individual feedback for assignments, you can each advance at your own pace. The goal is not for you to earn an advanced degree in English in one month, but to get practical advice related to your own writing.


Instructor: Brooke Baldwin

About The Instructor: Brooke Baldwin received her education from Smith and her M.A. from Yale, she focused on essay writing. Her master's degree is in American Studies, which includes American literature. While a graduate student, she served as a teaching assistant in several writing-intensive sections of American Studies classes. For over twenty years she taught writing at the middle and high school level.

As a grad student, she had several articles published in academic journals. She has published articles and pamphlets about the anti-apartheid movement. She joined Fan Story as adewpearl in August, 2008 and became the site's second ranked poet that year. In 2009 she became poet of the year.