I'm back again to talk about clear writing and the challenges it faces. I'll admit that I'm somewhat of a Grammar Nazi. Even though I usually don't vocalize it, it bothers me whenever I see glaring errors in things like bulletins, books, or billboards (no alliteration intended). Even when grammar is fine, people seem to have trouble expressing ideas in a systematic, logical way.
I don't know if any one part of society bears the entire blame for the way things are, but I can certainly say that public schools seem to be failing miserably when it comes to basic reading and writing skills. I didn't attend public school, so I can't speak from experience, but it's hard for me to imagine how teachers justify letting some kids move on from one grade to the next. I have a Facebook account. I know that most people can't spell or write worth a darn.
So how do you fix this problem? I'm not sure you can fix a problem like this without changing the rather lax attitude that teachers must have to allow this kind of thing. If I were more sappy, I would say that teachers should inspire their students to love writing, but I know better than that. There are going to be people who just don't care where a comma goes or if their ideas have a logical flow. Teachers need to find a way to teach good writing to these kinds of students.
In almost every area of life, perfection is unattainable. Not so with grammar. There are plenty of writings that don't contain a single error. While there may not be any correct style of writing, clear writing is always desirable.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelellsberg/2011/07/31/why-trying-to-learn-clear-writing-in-college-is-like-trying-to-learn-sobriety-in-a-bar/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susannahbreslin/2012/06/12/why-you-shouldnt-be-a-writer/2/
I don't know if any one part of society bears the entire blame for the way things are, but I can certainly say that public schools seem to be failing miserably when it comes to basic reading and writing skills. I didn't attend public school, so I can't speak from experience, but it's hard for me to imagine how teachers justify letting some kids move on from one grade to the next. I have a Facebook account. I know that most people can't spell or write worth a darn.
So how do you fix this problem? I'm not sure you can fix a problem like this without changing the rather lax attitude that teachers must have to allow this kind of thing. If I were more sappy, I would say that teachers should inspire their students to love writing, but I know better than that. There are going to be people who just don't care where a comma goes or if their ideas have a logical flow. Teachers need to find a way to teach good writing to these kinds of students.
In almost every area of life, perfection is unattainable. Not so with grammar. There are plenty of writings that don't contain a single error. While there may not be any correct style of writing, clear writing is always desirable.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelellsberg/2011/07/31/why-trying-to-learn-clear-writing-in-college-is-like-trying-to-learn-sobriety-in-a-bar/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susannahbreslin/2012/06/12/why-you-shouldnt-be-a-writer/2/
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