Friday, December 2, 2011

Daily-Grammar Resources

Want to improve your grammar and vocabulary, or just stay on top of vocab changes? (Such as email vs. e-mail. Really.)

RSS Feeds:
Grammar Girl (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/PodcastsRss.ashx?PodCast=grammar) . I wouldn't take all the advice to heart, but it is great to look at and read the comments.
Word of the day (http://www.merriam-webster.com/word/index.xml). Learn words with examples and roots explained.
World Wide Words (http://www.worldwidewords.org/rss/newsletter.xml). Awesome.

Newsletters:
A Word A Day. Subscribe to the newsletter. The words for this week were especially fun, accompanied by images. 
I also subscribe to the Grammar Girl newsletter, but there isn't much more in there than in the RSS feed.

Other services:
Copyediting.com. Most of the content is only for the paid service, however they do have articles anyone can access. I look at the Tip of the Week, posted every Tuesday on the main page. (Used to be an RSS feed, sadly not anymore.)
Vocabulary.com.  This will keep track of your progress as you learn words. The main problem I have with it is that it asks you to pick a related definition of a word you don't know, and none of the choices are familiar either. Maybe that helps you learn faster, but when you begin you'll just be getting answers wrong a lot. It's fun that it tracks your progress, though.
Idiomeanings, a dictionary for idioms.
Urban Dictionary and Urban Slang for slang and other expressions that may stump you.
Use Dictionary.com when you come across a word you don't know. (I keep a dictionary by my bed.)
Everyone should read the Elements of Style.
Grammar Bytes, Grammar Guide, and there are many more resources out there to keep you learning!

Peace out.