Proofread carefully!

I wrote an earlier entry on proofreading when you submitted your essay on Learning Styles, but I don't think many people paid attention to it, so I'll try again. If you haven't listened to Grammar Girl (either on your computer or by downloading her podcast to your MP3 player), this is a good opportunity because she has a piece on proofreading. Listen up!

If you scroll to the bottom of her web page, you'll see a list of her Top 10 podcasts. She addresses a couple of common problems I have seen in the essays, including Who versus Whom, Comma Splices and Who versus That.

If you want a refresher course in grammar, or if you never learned these rules at all, I suggest you check out Grammar Girl. If you have an mp3 player, you can subscribe to her podcasts and have them downloaded automatically every time you synch your player. I did that and listened to all her back shows during several trips to and from campus. She's fun to listen to, even if she is talking about grammar.

Many students have mp3 players, and more college faculty are providing materials for them. It's an easy way to review vocabulary words or learn key concepts; some teachers provide short podcasts that students can listen to as they walk to class to prepare them for topics introduced that day in class. Busy students can use podcasts to slide studying into small time periods during each day. (You can also download podcasts and burn them to CDs to listen to in your car.)