10 Websites To Help Improve Students' Grammar

This is a guest post from Mary Walton

Grammar is one of the most difficult concepts to teach students of any age. As an educator, you can find yourself tearing your hair out over it. Instead, it's worth giving online tools a try. They can give your students the skills they need to understand grammar, and the tools to give it a try for themselves. These ten websites can help you and your students get to grips with grammar, in a new and interesting way.

1. Easy Word Count: This website mainly offers a word counting tool. If you paste in your writing, it will give you a quick and accurate word count. However, it also checks your spelling and grammar for you. If there any errors, they will be highlighted in the text. This tool is useful, then, for multiple reasons for your students.

2. Assignment Help: This website features a highly useful and easy to use grammar guide. When students are struggling, this should be the first place you should point them to. They can look up all kinds of grammatical issues, from myths to the most common mistakes made by writers today.

3. Cite It In: When students are writing, of course they need to be using references to ensure the content of their work is well informed and useful. However, many have trouble correctly referencing the work they've used. This website will give them the correct reference for any source, which they can then paste into their essay.

4. Language Tool: This proofreading tool can check for typos, grammar issues, and style issues. All you have to do is paste your work in, and it will highlight any errors that have been made. The best thing about it is that it can proofread in over 20 languages. This is one that foreign language students will really get the use out of.

5. Academized: If your students are struggling to grasp a certain rule or concept, point them towards this site. The writers here can help them through any task, and show them how the rule works in every day English. It's a real life saver when you don't have the time to really sit one on one and work with that student.

6. Purdue Online Writing Lab: This well labelled and simple guide is something that should be in every student's bookmarks. All they have to do is find the issue they're having on the list, and click to get help with it. There's everything there, from adjectives, prepositions, and more.

7. Grammar Girl: This blog is a good idea to keep up with, either as a student or a teacher. it tackles common grammatical errors that everyone makes, and debunks common myths that everyone still believes. The writing style is breezy and informative, so it's enjoyable to read as well as being educational.

8. Custom Essay: Spell check won't catch everything, but students often rely heavily on it to get them through. In teaching your students about proofreading, you can direct them to this site. The expert writers here can work with students to spell check their assignments before they hand them in. Before you know it, their spelling will improve dramatically.

9. Grammar Book: Some students find it hard to learn about grammar, as they can't visualize how it should work. This site is for them. It features online quizzes that help put theory into practice, and see just how the rules should work in their every day writing. It's a fantastic tool to show students how the rules work, and give them the chance to put them into practice. 

10. Grammar Rules Review: This guide handles a lot of the most basic grammatical concepts, and deals with them in an in depth yet easy to understand way. You could guide your students to this site if they ever need some help. You can also use it yourself as a basis for lessons on basic concepts, such as tenses or nouns. 

These websites are all great for helping your students really get a handle on how grammar works. It's practical and useful, so put them in your bookmarks now. You never know when you'll need them.