The question is asked by most school kids every year, “Why do I need to take English classes if I already know how to speak English fluently?”  They’re usually met with the answer, “that’s just the way it is.”  Learning and studying English is much more than learning how to speak.  English studies teach the student how to clearly communicate using the spoken word as well as the written word. 

The best way to learn how to write English is to study the works of those that have mastered the language.  Reading literature is a way of teaching by example.  Through literature we learn and expand our vocabulary and at the same time we learn how to express ourselves using the written word.

Writing essays and research papers is the pinnacle of English studies because it is a demonstration of the student’s ability to affectively communicate his or her thoughts with the written word.  Often times it becomes difficult to remember the proper uses of grammar or punctuation.  Without the proper use of grammar or punctuation it would be difficult to convey any meaningful dialogue.  For reference, use the link to the right and navigate to an online version of The Elements of Style by William Strunk.

You will also find several links that will provide the student help with grammar usage along with a great link to a site that explains in great detail how to make citations to sources in essays and research papers.  This site breaks it down into simple terms on how to make citations in different groups of study, such as social studies, science, history, and humanities.  It explains the MLA style, Chicago manuscript fromat, APA format, and CSE manuscript style, as well as citing online sources.

And lastly, follow the proofreading link to discover what all those markings mean that your teachers and instructors write onto your papers.

In order to be an effective writer it’s important to distinguish the differences between the written word and the spoken word.  People rarely speak the way they write.  Sometimes this is cause for great confusion.  But the fact is conversational English is fast and usually blunt.  Whereas written English is carefully constructed to properly use complete grammatically correct sentences.  We use words to flower up our conveyances and demonstrate the prowess of our phraseology. 

The best way to learn to be a better writer is to read.  Reading literature is a great way to examine the written word and study the uses of vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation.  Off to the right are several links to websites that will help the student explore contemporary literature and also discover ways to improve ones vocabulary.