Library Research: A Quick Guide for Writing Assignments

Why Care About Writing?

One good reason is so others can understand you and what you are trying to communicate. This matters and will continue to matter throughout your life, whether as a student, or in your personal life? The right words matter.

This page covers some basic grammar tips that you can use whether you are writing: 

• a sentence or paragraph
• an essay or research paper
• short fill-in-the-blank answers in your homework

Look it Up! Find Answers to Your Writing Questions Quickly

Use the + signs to open the menus and reveal more information. Below is the direct link to Grammar Essentials page.

Why is it important to know about grammar, usage, and punctuation?

More Online Writing Resources

Commonly Confused Words

affect, effect

• affect: a verb meaning "to influence something."  The sunny weather affects my mood, for the good.
• effect: a noun meaning "the result of." My good mood is an effect of the sunny weather.
  • TIP:  If something affects you it usually has an effect on you.

are, our

• are: a form of the verb "be."  Are you going to the Learning Commons?"
• our: means "belonging to us." Our class had a tour of the Learning Commons last week."

by, buy

• by: means "close to or near," or indicates someone did something. My favorite book was written by Anthony Doerr.
• buy: means "to purchase." I am going to buy Doerr's latest book.

desert, dessert

• desert:  sandy, dry, arid landscape.  Death Valley is a desert in California. 
• dessert: refers to a sweet treat at the of a meal. We had a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.

either, neither

• either: indicates similarity between two things. Either blueberry or blackberry pie would be a good option.
• neither: agrees with a negative statement. I do not like prune pie. Neither do I.

hear, here

• hear: to detect sound by ear. I hear a dog barking.
• here: refer's to immediate location. The dog is right here. 

lose, loose

• lose: fail to win - The team is going to lose. OR misplace or no longer be in possession of  - I'm going to lose my phone if I'm not careful.
• loose: not tight. There's a loose screw on my desk.

past, passed

• past: events that occurred previously. Thank goodness I'm finished, and that course is in the past. 
• passed: the pass tense of "pass." Thank goodness I passed the course!

than, then

• than: is used to compare. I'd rather have pizza than burgers.
• then: at a certain time - I was living in the Twin Cities, then. OR a time after - They won the first game, and then the second game as well. 

there, they're, their, and there're

• there: refers to a place or location. My friends are over there.
• they're:  a contraction of "they are."  They're returning from class.
• their: belonging to them. Their class ended a few minutes ago.
• there're: a contraction of "there are." There're five us meeting for coffee.

who's, whose

• who's:  a contraction of "who is?" or "who has?"
• whose: an interrogative word - Whose is this? OR a relative pronoun - Whose book is this?