Do we really need to know grammar anymore? Don’t we live in the era of texts, Tweets and status updates? It seems so. And maybe, way down the road, we’ll dismiss some classical grammar rules. The English language does change, after all. But we’re not way down the road yet, and those who do not know when to use commas, how to avoid dangling modifiers, and whether to use “who” or “whom” will be much less likely to impress in the professional world. The grammatically correct resume, e-mail, news story, or press release can’t guarantee success. But a poorly placed grammatical goof can guarantee failure. And let’s not forget the essential reason for understanding grammar: that having a set of language conventions we all agree on helps us communicate.

This digital publication teaches the mechanics of written English. It concentrates especially on grammar and punctuation issues that surface frequently in media writing. The text gives students a fundamental knowledge of sentence structure, but it focuses mainly on problem areas media writers need to know. Though it’s expected students will come to this course with some background in grammar, the course material should give students an even more thorough understanding of the purposes of, and relationships between, words, phrases and clauses. Students will gain a clearer view into the structures of the language.