I might get slightly irritable when someone doesn't properly punctuate the 'you all,' 'yous guys' or 'you-ns guys' contraction.Know what I'm sayin'?
you mean ya'll? which I knowingly write incorrectly daily! habit! don't care!
-
Trouble logging in? Send us a message with your username and/or email address for help.
Happy National Punctuation Day!
- Thread starter Teresa
- Start date
you mean ya'll? which I knowingly write incorrectly daily! habit! don't care!
exactly my feelings. everyone is different in so many ways!
my little one is a very creative and wonderful writer. but if you saw his mistakes you would die. Sentence structure, punctuation, etc are hardly his concern at this point (3rd grade). though he is learning these things over time.
in Montessori, he has been encouraged to write in a journal every day since age 3, before he could hardly write his name. (starting out using pictures to tell your story).. even to this day, mistakes do not matter. the only thing that matters is putting down ideas and stories. no one has ever corrected one thing in the many journals he's kept over the years (at home and school).
But, he is given formal instruction in writing (outside of journal work). The use of learned rules show up little by little in his creative/free writing.
He may or may not ever follow all the rules - that will depend a lot on his own style of learning, as well as his own personality of whether he actually cares about the rules. But, he will be very expressive on paper regardless. and I think that's what we want to see.
Do you know that kids aren't really learning cursive writing these days? I am not sure what to think about that one. Is it really important? To me, yes. To younger folks? I don't know!
Alicia Leonard
SoWal Insider
I think that is my fear as well. People will stop expressing themselves if they feel they are being judged. I, myself, have deleted a few emails rather than be thought ignorant of certain rules. Also, not all rules apply in all places, so, it really gets me riled when I see people trying to correct each other. Associated Press style is different than general English rules and commas can be used as a form of expression, just as emphasis is placed vocally according to other styles. I am much more bothered by capitalization errors. We call them capitol punishment, here, at the paper. Not everything one thinks to be important is supposed to be capitalized. We should also remember that supposedly Shakespeare and many other well known writers had no use for punctuation or English rules as we know them. I'm really glad they didn't fear their writing skills would be judged, or we might not have some of the great literature we have now.
Miss Critter
Beach Fanatic
As one who has done writing/editing for much of her work life, I am a stickler for proper form - in its place. And I find the journaling idea fabulous. Never would I condone correcting grammar and punctuation skills in that context. Its very essence is free-flowing, creative expression. Once his wonderful story is on paper, your son's very capable editor will make all the necessary corrections to bring his best-seller to market.
I think that is my fear as well. People will stop expressing themselves if they feel they are being judged. I, myself, have deleted a few emails rather than be thought ignorant of certain rules. Also, not all rules apply in all places, so, it really gets me riled when I see people trying to correct each other. Associated Press style is different than general English rules and commas can be used as a form of expression, just as emphasis is placed vocally according to other styles. I am much more bothered by capitalization errors. We call them capitol punishment, here, at the paper. Not everything one thinks to be important is supposed to be capitalized. We should also remember that supposedly Shakespeare and many other well known writers had no use for punctuation or English rules as we know them. I'm really glad they didn't fear their writing skills would be judged, or we might not have some of the great literature we have now.
Much of what we deem truly creative writing violates many rules. I remember reading E. E. Cummings (or e e cummings) in high school, and being subsequently taught by a very astute English teacher that one first had to learn the rules of language before breaking them. That being said, the AP Stylebook sits next to my desk, and I don't want free-form writing in my news stories. It's all about context.
scooterbug44
SoWal Expert
I'm not talking about correcting little kids and stifling creativity, but the growing numbers of supposedly educated adults whose written communications are so full of basic errors that I wonder what exactly their education included.
I have no idea what an "em dash" is, and obviously I have typos or minor spelling errors too (Firefox catches most of them w/ its red squiggly underlines), but I don't think it is unreasonable to think high school and college graduates should have basic grammar and spelling skills.
I also think adults should be able to do basic math and am frequently amazed that figuring out the tip requires a calculator or phone app. :roll:
I have no idea what an "em dash" is, and obviously I have typos or minor spelling errors too (Firefox catches most of them w/ its red squiggly underlines), but I don't think it is unreasonable to think high school and college graduates should have basic grammar and spelling skills.
I also think adults should be able to do basic math and am frequently amazed that figuring out the tip requires a calculator or phone app. :roll:
I am thinking that the written word is much more visible now than ever, for everyone. Before, we may not have had the opportunity to see much writing from many friends or family. Now, we are either writing (typing) or reading someone's writing - constantly! My guess is that we didn't really know the depth of a person's writing ability way back when. We definitely do now. Maybe it will be a motivator for younger people. However, they are kind of making their own rules. It will be interesting to see how the culture of writing will be influenced.
Admittedly, when I see a very poorly written paragraph by someone I know or by some unknown person writing a comment or review on the internet, I definitely notice. Beyond that, its not that important to me. Revealing? yes. Life threatening? no. I'm thinking that everyone on the net is writing creatively - whether reviewing a movie or commenting on an article. This can be good and bad. Definitely reflects personality as well as skill. Its kind of like the creation of a new and different form of self-expression is emerging. Yes, it is writing But, on a whole new level.
I completely agree with Miss Critter - proper form has its place. It is and will always be important.
Math? cough.. no comment:leaving: well, actually, I'm great at math as long as I have all my calculators and spreadsheets at my fingertips. but I can figure out a tip without a bit of help! yay!
Mango
SoWal Insider
Not true, you also use an apostrophe to show possession. Most of the people who make this mistake were in elementary school during the 60's and 70's. I also recently read a report recently that 2/3 of teachers made errors on punctuation tests.
true.. see Apostrophe Part II. should have expanded more to include more examples of possession. but I think the point was made that many just do not get the apostrophe.
Alicia Leonard
SoWal Insider
Y'all are making me crazier with this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!