Okay, I will be the first to admit that I make a good number of grammar mistakes myself. However, that’s not to say that I don’t firmly believe that in this day of emoticons and abbreviations, we need to preserve this beautiful language of ours.
All through school, I was one of those nerdy kids who LOVED grammar! I loved learning the rules, and God knows there enough rules in grammar. I loved putting words together in proper context. I loved understanding the differences among past tense, past participle tense, past perfect tense, and so on. Would you believe there are 15 verb tenses in English? This is an excellent academic resource for many grammar issues.
In teaching college writing classes for 25 years, it became disheartening to see the writing skills, or lack thereof, of so many students. The dilemma became how to teach writing and grammar without boring students to death because unless you are a nerd like me, grammar lessons can be deadly.
So, what is the answer?
The solution is not easy. What we do need is for respected and esteemed leaders in business and education to place powerful emphasis on the importance of good grammar and writing. This then means equipping them with excellent writing skills and the ability to recognize the same, or not, in students and subordinates.
Think for a moment. How do you rate your writing? What are your biggest writing challenges? How can you improve your writing?
I am taking the liberty of including a lesson I used in my classes in college, and I’d love to hear what you think!
madmuser 