Grammar and Punctuation

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/grammar-punctuation

Introduction

## Course Review: Grammar and Punctuation on Coursera ### Overview Are you looking to brush up on your English grammar skills? Perhaps you've been out of school for a while and need a refresher on the fundamental elements of writing? If so, the *Grammar and Punctuation* course on Coursera is tailored just for you. As the first course in the Academic English: Writing specialization, it serves as a solid foundation for anyone aiming to improve their writing abilities. ### Course Structure and Content Spanning roughly 10 hours, the course is structured to facilitate learning through a combination of video lectures, readings, and practice exercises. The content isn’t overwhelming; instead, it is thoughtfully curated to cover essential topics that will significantly impact your writing: 1. **Course Introduction**: You'll start by getting acclimated to the course format and community, which fosters a collaborative learning environment. Introductions among peers will help you feel connected even in an online space. 2. **Verb Tenses and Conjunctions**: This module revisits verb tenses, ensuring you understand their usage intuitively. Additionally, exploring conjunctions will enhance your sentence construction techniques, enabling you to craft more complex and engaging sentences. 3. **Compound and Complex Sentences**: Transitioning from conjunctions, you'll delve into the different types of sentences. Understanding compound and complex sentences will elevate your writing from basic to more sophisticated levels, making your work more compelling. 4. **More Commas, Parallel Structure, and Sentence Variety**: Here, you’ll learn about the nuances of comma usage—essential for clear writing—and concepts such as parallel structure and sentence variety. Mastering these elements will not only boost your confidence but will also improve the readability and overall quality of your written work. ### Learning Experience The course employs a practical approach where you can engage with the material repeatedly. You can re-watch video lectures and redo exercises, allowing for mastery of the concepts rather than surface learning. The interactive quizzes reinforce your knowledge and ensure you're ready to progress to the next module after demonstrating understanding. ### Why You Should Enroll - **Comprehensive Refreshment**: Whether you're preparing for an academic journey or want to enhance your professional writing, this course provides a concise yet thorough review of essential grammar and punctuation rules. - **Flexible Learning**: With approximately 10 hours of course content, you can pace your studies according to your schedule. The short video lectures and activities make it easy to fit learning into your daily life. - **Skill Development**: Writing is an invaluable skill in both academic and professional settings. This course is designed to help you practice and develop your writing skills, making you more effective in conveying your thoughts and ideas. - **Supportive Community**: Engaging with other learners can provide additional motivation and insights, making the learning process more enjoyable and beneficial. ### Final Recommendation In conclusion, if you're looking to strengthen your English writing skills, the *Grammar and Punctuation* course on Coursera is highly recommended. It serves not only as a refresher but also as a building block for anyone looking to write with greater clarity and sophistication. The balance of instructional content and practical exercises makes it suitable for students of all levels. Enroll today to unlock your potential in writing!

Syllabus

Course Introduction

This is the first course in the Academic English: Writing specialization, which will help prepare you for studying in an American college or university. This first course will go over some of the basics of grammar and punctuation that you'll need to do good writing. It is not intended to review all aspects of English grammar, only the few topics chosen for this class. In this short module, to get started, introduce yourself and get to know the other learners a little bit. In the following lessons, you will watch video lectures, do readings, do practice exercises, and take quizzes. To pass the course, just pass all three quizzes. When you finish one activity, then go on to the next one. Enjoy the class!

In this module, you will watch video lectures, do readings, do practice exercises, and take quizzes. You can re-watch the videos or redo the exercises as many times as you need to to help you understand the material. This module will help you review verb tenses and how to use them correctly. You probably already studied these in your other English classes, so this will just be a quick reminder. Then you'll begin learning about how to use conjunctions in your sentences. This will help you write different kinds of sentences and make your writing more interesting.

Now that you've learned about conjunctions, you're ready to learn about different types of sentences. In English, there are four types of sentences that you can use--and should use--to make your writing more interesting to read. In this module, you'll learn about two of the advanced sentence types.

In this module, you'll learn some other uses for commas. After studying this module, you'll know about 95% of the ways commas can be used. That means you'll be able to write confidently, knowing that you are using commas correctly and not just guessing. In addition to learning about commas, you'll learn about creating parallel structure and sentence variety. When you add these to your writing tools, your writing will be even more effective.