Grammar and Mechanical Issues

There are a couple grammatical issues that make me nervous and unsure of my writing ability. Being confident in the correctness of my writing and composition will only make me a more effective, competent educator. I am excited to learn grammar rules and apply them to my current writing, as well as increase my awareness of important grammar rules to teach to future English and language arts students. Issues I would personally like to focus on include:

Probably the biggest and most important grammar issue I want to learn about is using commas and semicolons. I tend to overuse commas in my writing, because I feel uncomfortable with the semicolon. In the examples I provided, I’m still unsure of whether I’m using these grammatical devices correctly.

Previous research conducted has studied the influence of different materials in footwear composition and construction, such as lacing patterns and cushioning columns, and has found significant differences between variables.

It’s important to examine Medea’s qualification as a woman within the context of gender roles; but studying Medea as a supernatural being is critical in understanding the role of love in this play.

Knowing when it’s effective to use parentheses and when it’s better to just incorporate your thoughts into the sentence. These few examples come from my own writing, where I specifically remember wondering if the parentheses worked in the sentence.

The story’s predictability and unsurprising plot line reminded me of the “formula to writing a romance novel” we discussed in class and the guidelines that comprise a successful, yet unmemorable story line about a handsome male saving a damsel in distress (also inclusive with cover art of a rippling six pack and woman with a torn shirt.)

Then one group physically practiced the movement opposite of their dominant action, (if participants preferred thumb flexion they performed thumb extension, vice versa) while another group only observed movement opposite of their action preference.

I would also like to know how to correctly using the terms: Furthermore, Moreover, and Likewise. Although this doesn’t seem like as important of an issue as the ones I listed before, I know that using these terms are inevitable while writing lengthy research papers. Correctly using furthermore, likewise, and moreover will make my writing more polished and readable. I’ve used “furthermore” in my writing, but couldn’t find “likewise” and “moreover” in the many papers I perused. The last two examples come from the Internet.

Furthermore, the Counseling and Wellness services gives some self-help information and tips on how to alleviate anxiety.

I had a terrible day, work sucked, I was tired, moreover the lady I worked with was an absolute idiot!

We can find super markets nearly at all parts of big cities, likewise at each shopping center.

My blog-ending question is more to get a feel for what you all think about grammar in the teaching sense. Are you excited to show students the light on the various grammar lessons we’ll cover this semester, or if you had the choice, would you rather have another teacher do it and not have the responsibility?