Grammar Blog #6

So, I just got the email that professor Monroe had found several errors in recent newspaper articles. This information excites me as it would help me out tremendously with me scrap book which is lacking material right now. But, this email was also discouraging. Although I feel that I am learning about grammar rules, I still have so much trouble finding them.

The problem I am having isn’t that I do not know the rules, it is that I tend to look for one grammar rule and I do not end up finding it. Meanwhile, I overlook all many of the other potential errors that may be in the article or story.

I enjoyed the mini lesson on Wednesday, and I have noticed myself looking for opening clauses. The lesson was great because it showed examples in printed writing along with showing the correct punctuation for the rule. This made it very easy to see what the rule was. I hope in the future that mini lessons like this help me to look for specific grammar errors in print.

As of right now, I am having trouble finding more than one or two errors in the Daily Evergreen. Our class gives the Daily Evergreen a lot of grief, but in my opinion they actually do a pretty good job, especially if the Evergreen is compared to the publication Lana showed us.

Although I am having some difficulties, I am sure that if I give my self enough time that I will be able to get the scrapbook done, (even though it may not look very pretty).

What kind of strategies do you use to find grammar mistakes and errors?

Grammar Blog #5

We had quite the discussion this week in English 326. Of course it was about grammar, but what made it interesting was the idea of not teaching grammar, instead teach writing first. Although this idea does work on paper, it would be interesting to see it in a major educational system. I also am partial to the way I was taught because I feel it has worked pretty well so far. When I write I think about grammar very little, and I usually allow the punctuation come to me. But, I do know that several times I can be incorrect when I do punctuate, but I rely on Microsoft Word and my decent punctuating skills to get me through my papers.

Another reason one might argue that their punctuation is correct is because we see a trend of poor punctuation everywhere. While texting or on facebook, twitter, and myspace, poor punctuating and grammar is looked at as ok, and even cool sometimes.

But it’s not just social networking or texting that we see poor grammar, it’s also in articles and stories that we read everyday. This proves that many of the rules that we see being broken are no necessarily rules, but rather guidelines. Many professional writers chose to break these guidelines to make their writing more enjoyable to read and I like it. Also, I rarely feel that I notice these rules being broken to the point where it takes away my enjoyment to what I am reading. But, I can understand that students would have trouble learning the correct rules because the writing they see does not typically follow theses rules.

Do you think that the idea of not teaching punctuation till later can be translated into secondary education?