A Course in Grammar and Punctuation Fundamentals

English. Develop your command of the English language with us.

COVID-19 update: arrangement of our courses

We are now delivering courses online and in-person. Please check the delivery format of each class before enrolling.

Please note that course materials (excluding prescribed texts) are shared electronically within 48 hours of course commencement. Printing is not available.

In this intensive grammar and punctuation course, you’ll spend a day learning all the basic concepts and principles of grammar that you were probably never formally taught. What do ‘subject’, ‘verb/s’ and ‘predicate’ mean? How do you use phrases, clauses and sentences to construct effective paragraphs? What are the nine parts of speech? What is the purpose of the punctuation marks, and how do you set up bulleted lists?

This course is for you if you work with words and need to grasp the basics so you can identify errors and justify your corrections. Using a list of the standard 'hard-copy editing' marks, you’ll work with others to identify errors, correct sentences, justify your corrections and understand when more than one solution is acceptable.

Join us for a day of de-mystifying a ‘key learning area’ that hasn’t been systematically taught in Australian schools since 1972!

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• identify basic concepts and principles of English grammar and punctuation
• define and explain key terminology
• justify your corrections to your own writing and anyone else’s
• undertake drafting and copy editing
• solve some of the common problems that everyone encounters when reading and writing.

Content

The main topics covered in this course include:

• subject, verb/s and predicate
• active and passive voice
• construction of English
• the punctuation marks
• the nine parts of speech
• rules and conventions
• 20 general-revision questions
• 25 punctuation questions
• identifying the parts of speech in a paragraph
• the standard marks that professional editors use to edit hard copy.

Intended audience

Suitable for anyone who works with words in a professional, business or educational setting.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for enrolling in the grammar and punctuation course other than reasonable fluency in the English language. The course is pitched at the level of people who wish to improve their written English and justify the choices they make in their writing.

Delivery mode

Face-to-face, presenter-taught workshop

Delivery style

Delivery is in the form of both an explanatory lecture and a hands-on workshop that includes interactive group exercises.

Before the course

Please bring a blue, red, green and black pen (or preferably all four colours in one pen) so you can mirror the colour-coding system the tutor uses when explaining concepts.

Recommended reading

Deb Doyle, Grey Areas and Gremlins: A Grammar and Punctuation Refresher, 4th edition.

This self-published text is intended as an adjunct to the material covered during the workshop. It contains detailed information as well as three specific exercises, two general-revision exercises, and answers for all the exercise questions. It is available for purchase via the facilitator's website, debdoyle.com.au.