1. GRAMMAR RULES for ESSAY Writing

2.  Every human language starts an active sentence with the subject, or the "doer." In English, the verb (what's being done) follows the subject. If there is an object (the receiver of the action), it comes after the verb. The formula looks like this:verb  S+V+O. This rule is the foundation of the English language. Here are some examples: Mary walked the dog. The dog liked Mary. I did not like the dog. 1. Use Active Voice

3.  All sentences must start with a capital, or upper case, letter.  Titles of people, books, magazines, movies, specific places, etc. are capitalized.  Every sentence needs a punctuation mark at the end of it. These would include a period, exclamation mark, or question mark. 2. Punctuation

4.  Sometimes you want to link two ideas with a second S+V+O combination. When you do, you need a coordinating conjunction. The new formula looks like this: FANBOYS For And Nor But Or Yet So 3. Link Ideas with a Conjunction

5.  FANBOYS are used when connecting two ideas as one in a single sentence, but don't forget the comma.  There are a lot of rules for commas. The basic ones are commas separate things in a series and go wherever there is a pause in the sentence. They surround the name of a person being addressed, separate the day of the month from the year in a date, and separate a town from the state.  For example: Mary fed her dog, and I drank tea. 4. Use a Comma to Connect Two Ideas As One

6.  The serial comma is a controversial rule of grammar. Some want to eliminate it altogether while others just don't know how to use it. The serial comma is the last comma in a list, usually appearing before "and." The serial comma comes after "dog" in this sentence: Pets R Us has lizards, dogs, and birds.  Commas separate units in a list. In the above case, each unit only has one part, so it's easy. Where people get confused is when the units are bigger, but the rule still applies: Pets R Us has lizards and frogs, dogs and cats, and parakeets and macaws. 5. Use a Serial Comma in a List and Units in Lists

7.  Notice that the serial comma comes before "and" but not the last "and" in the sentence. The "and" that follows the comma is only there because it sounds better. Grammatically, "and" is irrelevant. Only units matter. ***NOTE

8.  When we talk about the past, we have to add an "-ed" to regular verbs to make the second form. Irregular verbs are tricky and have their own sets of rules. Drink, for example, turns to "drank." Most of the time, though, "-ed" will do. The dogs stopped barking two seconds ago, and I am feeling better. Mary played fetch with her hyperactive dog. 6. Add "ed" to verbs for the Past Tense