Grammar and Writing, Thinking, Talking, and Reading

Regardless of how students may feel about grammar, skill in using language will be one of the ways in which people will judge a person's professionalism. Ever seen a misspelled or grammatically incorrect sign in a grocery store? For most people, their immediate reaction is to think something like "Who was the idiot that posted that?" While such a judgement may be unfair, it is the reality that faces every professional who communicates in writing with the public.

Problems with grammar generally stem from two sources: fractured thinking or poor habits that often are based on conversational writing styles or difficulties encoding speech into written form. Because writing is a kind of thinking, when a writer’s thinking is unclear, the grammar frequently suffers. Also, because people do not take the same care with grammar when talking, everyday speech is frequently filled with grammatical errors. For students, especially those who are infrequent readers, casual conversation often becomes the model for their writing. Students should remember that writing is always more formal than everyday conversation. The voice students hear in their minds when they are writing should sound like the voice they hear when they are reading, not the voice they hear when they are talking.

Since grammar problems can stem from flaws in thinking, students will find it useful to edit the language of their essays so that the essay reads smoothly and clearly. Often this will eliminate many grammatical errors. Once the paper has been edited, students should review the essay looking for any patterns of errors they may be prone to committing that may be based on conversational speech problems. Finally, students should review their essays to make sure that they are following the conventions for converting spoken lanugage into print (for instance, using a colon to introduce a list appearing at the end of a sentence).

To improve their grammar, students must identify any weaknesses they may have, and, like any bad habit, practice replacing the bad habit with the correct habit until it becomes second nature. Most grammar problems are repetitions of the same basic mistake. Students must practice looking for patterns in their errors.

ENGL1010 Composition I