Subject: RE: Words, words, words
From: Baader, Cecilia (cbaader@casecorp.com)
Date: Mon Jan 24 2000 - 13:00:32 EST
> On Monday, January 24, 2000 7:54 AM LR Pearson, Arts 99
[lp9616@bristol.ac.uk]wrote:
> ...C'mon girl, shake the oldies up a bit! It's the only way we're ever
> gonna learn to think for ourselves.
Having waded through a sea of rather amusing emails this morning, (I agree
with Scottie... the Rovira/Dougal bout is perhaps the most fascinating
exchange to occur here in recent months) Lucy-Ruth's post is the only one to
which I have an overwhelming need to reply.
Lucy-Ruth's characterization of conservative list-members has led me to a
most astonishing epiphany (quick nod to Scottie) this morning. I hate to
admit this, but I think that I'm an oldie.
Those who know me would guffaw at such a statement. You, Cecilia? An
oldie? Bah! Look at you, you're just a sweet young thing.
And at the ripe old age of twenty-six, I'd have agreed with them.
Yesterday.
However, today I find that an oldie appears to be one with an appreciation
for such things as "correct spelling" and, what was that again? Oh yes,
"grammar."
All kidding aside, I feel the need to toss my twenty-six cents into this
discussion and state unequivocally that yes, Becky, spelling is important.
You have what appears to be a wonderful English teacher, but I fear that she
does you a disservice when she tells you that spelling and grammar are
unimportant.
So much of what we do these days requires non-verbal communication, whether
through email, faxes, reports to superiors, or anything else that requires a
written answer. How well the information we present is received often
depends upon how well we present the information. And when that
presentation is off, the reader often loses interest in the tremendous
amount of work that we have done, simply because we haven't taken the time
to check.
There's almost a terrible joy in crafting a beautiful sentence. You know
what you are going to say and you say it, precisely. And when you are
confident in your craft, sure, go ahead and play. Write fragments if they
fit the rhythm of what you are trying to say, but know that you are writing
fragments and take pleasure in their almost perfect placement.
With the advent of computers into our lives and the wonders of spell- and
grammar-check, I find that grammar really should be a non-issue. Turn on
the automatic spell-checker on your email. If you don't have it, type
everything in your word processing program, run spell check on it, and paste
it into your email. Proofread. Ask others to proofread. Ask them why they
have made the corrections they have made, and pay attention so as not to
make those mistakes in the future. It's so easy to do: a couple of extra
seconds of effort go a long way towards winning the respect of your readers.
English Professors and Editors aren't terribly tolerant of mistakes, either.
You don't want your work to end up in the discard pile simply because you
aren't sure of the difference between "your" and "you're."
So let me leave you with a little bit of advice. Once upon a time a very
wise man gave me a tiny little marvelous book, which I sometimes revisit
just for grins: William E. Strunk's and E.B. White's _The Elements of
Style_. Read it. Learn it. Love it. If you do, you will have done
yourself the biggest favor of your life. My copy is in tatters: dog-eared
and marked up with childish handwriting, I cherish it. And my greatest hope
is that someday, you will too.
Regards,
Cecilia.
ObSal: Has anyone ever noticed Franny's grammatical errors in her letter to
Lane? They stand out every time that I read it, and they help give that
little bit more insight into her character.
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