These free online writing courses are designed to fill some of the knowledge gaps some writers may. They cover some of the basic ideas about English grammar and constructing text.
The free online writing courses are by no means comprehensive. If you want to learn more about grammar, usage and punctuation, please look for more specialised resources such as the Australian Government Style Manual.
The building blocks of language
This course briefly explains the types of words we use when we speak and write. It discusses how we put these words together to create meaning – meaning that we can transmit to another person.
Avoiding errors in writing
Grammatical mistakes and sentence errors unsettle readers and can slow down reading. These errors may even change your intended meaning. This course highlights some common errors and how to correct them.
Free online writing courses – a focus on grammar
Expect to be informed more than entertained!
From the introduction to Manual of Commercial English by W.Shawcross.
Our experience has lead us to believe that most students of English for commercial purposes lookup on grammar as a dry subject, having no practical bearing upon their day-to-day work. They are often impatient of lessons on formal grammar and regard them as a waste of time. They wish “to cut to the cackle and get to the ‘osses.” Such students make a great mistake. Many, perhaps most, of the errors in the writing of English are caused by ignorance of or neglect of the rules of grammar, and to avoid the careful study of them in the belief that more rapid progress will be made, will result only in more haste and less speed. We have therefore taken the rules of grammar as the starting point for our consideration of English for commercial purposes.