So, um, I'm such a dork. I edit posts I read on facebook, twitter or blogs. I correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. I specifically think through the rules taught to me all through elementary and secondary school. Frequently, I become impressed with myself for recalling these rules so well.
Often, I am appalled at how poorly many people spell. It drives me nuts when I come across a run-on sentence that is 3 lines long and completely lacking punctuation. The punctuation issues especially bothers me, because without punctuation your statement or phrase can be interpreted (or misinterpreted) several ways. I prefer not to have to read what someone has written four or five times to make sure I've understood the intended message. I suppose I could just ignore such posts, which is technically possible, except I am a freak and I cannot just move on once I've come across it. I must decode the message!
Anyway, it scares me that high school students don't know/use the simple rules taught to them in elementary school. When a college or university student/grad cannot spell simple words (and I'm not talking about typos - I'm referring to misspelling) or cannot use the correct word from a group of homophones, I become very worried. It especially bothers me when the post-secondary educated person is majoring in English. It makes me livid!
Rules of spelling and grammar were not created by uptight people that want to control your life. They exist so that everyone can understand each other clearly. So please, try harder. The challenge is good for your brain, and it will give me peace of mind.
P.S. I know how dorky I am. No need to remind me in the comments!
P.P.S. I was extra careful in editing this post - I don't want to be caught making the same errors that bother me! You will be rewarded bonus points for finding errors and correctly identifying which rule is broken (or correct spelling if that is the case).
While being picky about misspelling, grammar and punctuation is all well and good, the due care which you prepared this message was all for naught. So early in your blog post (the second sentence of all places), you made an error whereby you misspelled facebook as 'tacebook.' Most likely this is a typo. However, you were adamant in pointing out how "careful" you were in editing this blog, so I thought I'd step in and help you.
ReplyDeleteHave a good day!
Dang. I knew that was going to happen too, which is why I actually re-read the entire post before I posted it. I know it sort of weakens my point, but I do think the point is still valid.
ReplyDeleteMy main concern is not in the occasional error or typo, but with errors made consistently which people should easily be able to catch. That's what scares me the most.
Oh, and a million bonus points* to you for catching my mistake! :)
ReplyDelete*Bonus points are only redeemable for bragging rights. They are non-transferable.