Grammar is a term for the rules governing the use of any given language. Along with diction (choice of words), it is an important part of quality communication. Technical communication deliverables are often judged by these rules, and as a result, technical communicators are often relatively skilled in the theory and practice of them. Grammar is often discussed in the contexts of rhetoric, writing, editing, presentations and collaboration.
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Writers of English have choices. Most every word we commit to paper (or its electronic equivalent) has a synonym
Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Tropes
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The American Heritage Book of English Usage 
This book is designed to inform you about current problems in English usage so you can make intelligent decisions when communicating. When confronted with a choice about a usage, you may ask yourself a number of questions: Has this usage been criticized for some reason in the past? If so, are these criticisms substantial? What are the linguistic and social issues involved? Have people frequently applied this usage in the past, and for how long? What do well-respected writers think of the usage today? You will find answers to these and many other questions in this book.
Bartleby.com (1996). Reference>Style Guides>Diction>Grammar
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Commas, semi-colons and colons are the sentence tidiers. Used correctly, they'll give your written language the 'punctuation' that pauses, voice modulations and gestures provide when you speak.
Right Words (2006). Articles>Writing>Style Guides>Grammar
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Assembly Instructions for a Correct Sentence: The Sentence Diagram 
This workshop explores the whys and hows of sentence diagramming. Knowledge of the time-honored technique can aid editors, writers, and instructors in preventing and correcting pesky errors in sentence structure, including dangling modifiers, misplaced modifiers, and faulty parallelism. Diagramming offers the familiar look of technical drawings, the comforting feel of pencil on paper, and unmatched analytical potential.
Jennings, Ann S. STC Proceedings (1999). Articles>Writing>Grammar
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Review: The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation 
If you are still struggling to decode the complex jargon and structure of English grammar with a long list of reference books, relax. The long wait for a reader-friendly book on English grammar is over. With her straightforward and perfectly-logical approach, Jane Straus reveals the mysteries of grammar and punctuations in her book The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. The book is extremely well-organized, allowing readers to quickly locate the required topics. Concepts are described in clear and simple phrases, backed with examples from everyday language usage.
Kudesia, Saurabh. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>Reviews>Style Guides>Grammar
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The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
Jane Straus' easy-to-use reference guide and workbook is now available as an online resource. This popular book is an indispensable and entertaining guide for writers, proofreaders, editors, managers, clerical staff, teachers, and students. Use this site to find the answers to your questions concerning proper English grammar and punctuation.
Straus, Jane. Grammarbook.com (2004). Reference>Style Guides>Grammar
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In our early writing years, many of us toiled under strict teachers who drilled the rules of English grammar into our collective consciousness. We sweated drops of blood on our pristine paper as we tried to craft perfect sentences for that much-desired 'A.' We prayed that we didn’t leave a word or clause misplaced or dangling for the teacher’s angry red pen to mark. Yet pick up a work of modern fiction, and you might notice that the writer has broken many of the rules that were drummed into our impressionable heads. These days, fiction often resembles the casual style of postmodern poetry, with sentence fragments and punctuation sprinkled about like seasoning. But in technical communication, we can’t be so casual. We must adhere to those rules of grammar our English teachers upheld— at least, for the most part.
Gallagher, Jolie A. Intercom (2002). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Technical Writing
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Have you been told, perhaps by your computerised grammar checker, that too many of your sentences are passive? Have you heard the rule of thumb that at least 80 percent of the sentences in any passage should be active? If you've had the problem or heard the rule, and wonder what the terms active and passive mean, and why one is good and the other frowned on, this article is for you.
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Collecting Books about Editing
Intercom's 'friendly editor' discusses his extensive collection of dictionaries, grammars, and other books of interest.
Bush, Donald W. Intercom (2005). Articles>Editing>Style Guides>Grammar
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Offers an extensive list of commonly confused words, their definitions and the correct way to use them.
Brians, Paul. Washington State University. Reference>Style Guides>Grammar
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Commonly Used and Misused Punctuation Marks
Defines the functions of several punctuation marks and provides examples of their correct usage.
LR Communication Systems (1999). Reference>Style Guides>Grammar
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This presentation introduces your students to the rules of comma usage, including placement in compound sentences, after introductory elements, with dependent phrases and clauses, around non-essential elements, in a series, and with adjectives. This presentation also covers methods for avoiding a common comma error--the comma splice. This presentation is ideal for the beginning of a composition course, the assignment of a writing project, or as a refresher presentation for grammar usage.
Liethen, Jennifer Kunka. Purdue University. Presentations>Slideshows>Style Guides>Grammar
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Control the pace of the story by varying sentence length.
Clark, Roy Peter. Poynter Online (2004). Articles>Writing>Grammar>Rhetoric
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Indenting the first line of every paragraph is a habit most of us acquired in grammar school. However, for those daring souls who have always insisted on coloring outside the lines, it’s time to consider using a different style paragraph indent. There are more options than you might have realized!
Strizver, Ilene. Upper and lowercase Magazine (2001). Design>Typography>Style Guides>Grammar
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A Critique of Grammatical Coverage in Business-Communication Textbooks
Business English (BE) and business communication (BC) overlap. English handles linguistic mechanics and style, whereas communication holistically discusses the movement of a message from one person to another. The BC discipline, unfortunately, allows language basics into its pedagogy like a statistics course teaching fundamental mathematics. From the other side, some English courses teach BC before their students are able to handle that material. A subject teaches prepared students. If they are deficient, they are either kept out or the subject matter suffers.
Kenman, Leon F. Association for Business Communication (2004). Articles>Education>Grammar>Business Communication
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Dangling modifiers can be humorous for the reader, but humiliating for the writer. They're insidious, creeping into our prose and undermining our sentence structure. But they're easy to find if you know what to look for.
Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2006). Articles>Writing>Grammar
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You don't have to swallow a grammar book to write correctly. If you can just avoid ten serious and very common traps, your chances of making a grammar mistake drop dramatically.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Articles>Writing>Grammar
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When I peer-review a four-page document and insert the word the seventeen times, I wonder: Is this what my company is paying me to do? Am I truly adding value for my customers?
Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2006). Articles>Editing>Grammar
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If you write documentation for products that can be dangerous if misused, ambiguity is scarier than rush hour traffic on I-40. If you already know what the sentence means, it's difficult to perceive that it could be taken to mean something else. By stringently applying rules of grammar, you help eliminate potential ambiguity even when you don't perceive it. Technical content is difficult enough to navigate; give the reader a clear path so he can focus on the journey instead of the road.
Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2006). Articles>Writing>Grammar
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Dr. Grammar may provide help with your grammar questions.
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Technical communicators tend to be problem solvers. We ask ourselves, 'How can I make this better?' We don't want our instruction material to simply be serviceable; we want it to help make our readers' lives easier. One way we do that is by anticipating mistakes that users might make if they don't read carefully. We use various techniques to emphasize material that could otherwise be overlooked. Some effective means of drawing the reader's eye to important material are presented below. Note that this article doesn't address safety messages. For proper use of safety messages, consult your corporate guidelines and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Wenger, Andrea. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>Writing>Grammar
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Equal Time: Grammar and Composition: Myths and Realities
Let's resist seduction by the mythologies of teaching and keep our grasp on the realities of learning.
Kuykendall, Carol. English Journal, The (1975). Articles>Education>Writing>Grammar
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Too many editors focus on the details and don't pay enough attention to the bigger picture. Editors can--and should--add even more value through substantive, technical, and usability editing. Copyediting is important, but the details are only part of what an editor can and should be reviewing. After all, a document can be correctly spelled and punctuated, grammatically correct, use only approved terminology, and follow the style guide perfectly--and still not serve the audience's needs. This article covers some reasons why editors focus on details and not the bigger picture; describes how much attention technical communicators should pay to formal rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage; and describes how we can distinguish between essential and nonessential rules of grammar, punctuation, and usage.
Weber, Jean Hollis. TECHWR-L (2002). Articles>Editing>Grammar
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When is a noun not a noun? When it's been verbed. A lot of verbing is going on, as you've probably noticed. In fact, it's happening so frequently that I think we'd better come up with a name for the part of speech produced by verbing a noun.
Allison, Nancy. Boston Broadside (1989). Articles>Writing>Diction>Grammar
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Exercise Central is the largest collection of editing exercises available online that provide practice for mastering the skills of editing grammar, style, punctuation, and mechanics.
