Grammar, spelling and punctuation Developing academic English

Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation are key to polished academic writing. The following questions can be helpful in proofreading your written work:

• In your sentences, do your verbs agree with their subject?
• Have you used your verb tenses correctly?
• Have you used articles such as 'a', 'an' and 'the' correctly?
• Have you checked your spelling and punctuation?

The following resources will help you develop your grammar, spelling and punctuation for academic writing.

• English grammar reference

  A useful guide from British Council Learn English offering brief explanations of the more common areas of grammar, each with a relevant activity. 

• Skills you need

  Aims to make you think about your writing, including grammar, spelling and punctuation, and provides guides for specific pieces of writing whether it be for university or the workplace.

Using tenses and verbs

• Activity: Verbs

  British Council Learn English overview of the use of verbs including regular/irregular verbs, the different tenses and modal verbs.

• Activity: Present tense

  This activity from British Council Learn English explains the use of present tense forms.

• Sentence grammar: Past, present or future tense

  This Bitesize resource from BBC Skillswise has lots of downloadable factsheets and activities.

Using gerunds or infinitives

The following activity from BBC Learning English explores the use of the gerund, the 'ing' form of a verb (verb +ing, for example, 'singing'), and the infinitive form (to + verb, for example, 'to sing').

• Activity: Gerund or infinitive

  Watch the video about verbs which change meaning when followed by the gerund or infinitive form and complete the quiz.

Use of articles: 'a', 'an' and 'the'

The following links from British Council Learn English give a summary on when to use the indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ and the definite article ’the’. 

• Indefinite article: 'a' and 'an'
• Definite article: 'the'

Use of single phrases to represent whole processes

Nominalisation is when verbs and adjectives are turned into nouns or noun phrases. The following YouTube video from Academic English UK explains how to use nominalisation to develop a more concise and formal writing style. 

• What is Nominalisation? How to nominalise a sentence in academic writing.

Use of prepositions

Prepositions are connecting words that improve the clarity and flow of your writing. This gameshow video from BBC Learning English looks at which prepositions to choose before or after certain words or phrases. There is also a quiz for you to try. 

• Activity: The Grammar Gameshow

Spelling and punctuation

• Skillwise: Spelling

  BBC Bitesize has an engaging guide to root words, letter patterns, silent words and spelling plurals.

• Guide to Punctuation

  The University of Sussex’s guide provides clear explanations of the rules of punctuation for students who may find it difficult.   

• Common confusions

  This University of Bristol guide gives examples of common confusions in writing such as: it's and its; and whose and who's.

• Punctuation - Signs and Symbols

  Further help on punctuation from Skills You Need

Confusable words

These resources explore words that can be easily confused for a number of reasons.

• Homophone vs. Homonym vs. Homograph: What’s the Difference?

  Dictionary.com explains the differences between homophones, homonyms and homographs, with examples.

• Activity: Avoiding word class confusions

  Read ‘Avoiding word class confusions’ in the free OpenLearn course ‘English: skills for learning’. You'll need to sign in with your OU password to complete the activities.