ArtsceneProfessor uses humour in new book to teach grammarBy Nathan HowesA lot of students have told me I was teaching business writing OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFFover the years they find the thought to people who were already work-of grammar intimidating, said ing for 10 or 20 years and realized A former Sheridan College pro-OShea. It ranges from being that they were making very ele-fessor proves that learning gram-bored with it to being frightened mentary mistakes and didnt know mar doesnt have to be a losingand thats not necessary because what to do about it, said OShea. battle with the help of her newits not a difficult topic.Grammar was an unknown to book.One of the most common gram-many people who went through With more than 20 years of matical mistakes OShea has seen our school systems.teaching at the Oakville campus,over the years has been the differ-Each chapter includes lessons Mary-Lynn OShea has seen everyence between its and its, which on each common mistake and grammatical mistake readers couldalso happens to be the first lesson exercises that allows readers to fix think of. Earlier this year, shein the book.mistakes based on what they have released Grammar Lost and Found,Its and its isnt difficult, read. Theyre designed to assist a college-level textbook that usestheres only one thing 'its' with an with understanding grammatical humour and fictional stories toapostrophe can mean, but its a correction, says OShea.explain and help readers with themistake you see everywhere, said There are exercises where you 20 most common grammar, punc-OShea.have to decide whether theyre tuation and spelling errors.The problem, says OShea, is right or wrong and ones where you Grammar shouldnt be hard tothat grammar may not have been have to write a page using the con-fix, says OShea, and her booktaught correctly in the past, which cepts of that chapter, she said.makes the exercises straightfor-would explain the common mis-OShea has always encouraged SUBMITTED PHOTOward and fun to complete. Studentstakes she saw in different classes her students to read and learn the GRAMMAR:Former Sheridan College professor Mary-Lynn O'Shea is pic-shouldnt be afraid of it, she adds.she taught, not just journalism.See Grammar page 32tured with her book Grammar Lost and Found.31 Wednesday, June 15, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER www.insideHALTON.com