In regard to spelling and grammar

[garvey]

With the influx of new members I thought I'd bump this. When I first joined it didn't seem like a big deal, after a couple months you really start to appreciate it. The thing that irks me recently is the lack of the shift key.

Call them out on it. If someone chooses not to abide by our rules, then they don't belong here. This isn't myspace, this is an adult community where grammar and spelling are taken seriously. Thanks for bumping this thread.

Rod, I appreciate you holding members to your higher standards.

I teach college sophomores & juniors and their writing skills are often underdeveloped. I wonder what students are taught in high school English classes? Improper grammar, no sense of punctuation, lack of organizational structure, imprecise topic sentences, and weak word choice are the rule rather than the exception. And I teach at a Big Ten university and a top 10 business school (and several sections of honor students).

I love taking a pen to their initial papers -- because I know those marks are the first step for them to improve over a 16 week semester.

So remember, if you call someone out on their writing you are doing them a favor. :thumbs:

 

[Renefatdude]

With the influx of new members I thought I'd bump this. When I first joined it didn't seem like a big deal, after a couple months you really start to appreciate it. The thing that irks me recently is the lack of the shift key.

Call them out on it. If someone chooses not to abide by our rules, then they don't belong here. This isn't myspace, this is an adult community where grammar and spelling are taken seriously. Thanks for bumping this thread.

I try to be as good as I can with my English, but as it is not my mothers tongue it is not easy!
We learn it in school but we learn English english, if you know what I mean.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

I teach college sophomores & juniors and their writing skills are often underdeveloped. I wonder what students are taught in high school English classes? Improper grammar, no sense of punctuation, lack of organizational structure, imprecise topic sentences, and weak word choice are the rule rather than the exception.

I teach high school freshman and sophomores, and we wonder what our students are taught in middle school English classes.

I'm sure middle school teachers wonder the same about elementary school . . .

The sad truth is that, by incremental and unnoticed degrees, we have become a post-literate society. Reading for pleasure is something only about 15% of the adult population engages in, and if you're not a regular reader, you'll simply never catch up to those who are in vocabulary, grammar, or fluency.

Proper English, it turns out, is better caught than taught. Substituting the Xbox for Dr. Seuss practically guarantees you'll raise an idiot.

~Boar

 

[Dude Love]

The grandest liberty I take concerning digital communication is the occasional omission of the "G" on the end of certain everyday verbs. I find that this is acceptable and true to my speech patterns in real life, and is not wholly off-putting to any person or persons attempting to read my messeges.

And I blame being raised in a family of briars for that :whistling:.

Seriously though, it drives me up a wall when people type like they're on Myspace.

 

[christol]

I think the one that surprises me the most is the misuse of their, there, there.
I remember learning these in grade 2, but it seems like people have forgotten them!

 

[tomthirtysix]

With the influx of new members I thought I'd bump this. When I first joined it didn't seem like a big deal, after a couple months you really start to appreciate it. The thing that irks me recently is the lack of the shift key.

Call them out on it. If someone chooses not to abide by our rules, then they don't belong here. This isn't myspace, this is an adult community where grammar and spelling are taken seriously. Thanks for bumping this thread.

I try to be as good as I can with my English, but as it is not my mothers tongue it is not easy!
We learn it in school but we learn English english, if you know what I mean.

This is something I am sure everyone here is OK with. It's the blatant disregard of even the most basic rules of spelling, grammar, and punctuation that is the problem.

 

[Dude Love]

I think the one that surprises me the most is the misuse of their, there, there.
I remember learning these in grade 2, but it seems like people have forgotten them!

I saw a member of some random cigar board that had them in his sig with the definitions in huge bold letters. Couldn't hurt.

 

[sonuvabum]

The thing that irks me recently is the lack of the shift key.

I think it's a Blackberry thing. Most of the offenders I know of, usually in emails, started because of their Crackberrys.

The rest are just lazy.

 

[Sweetrice80]

The biggest problem is that People type like they speak. Some people do not understand that, Speaking and typing (writing) should be separate from each other. It goes both ways, no one likes to hear someone speak something that is written, they want the speaker to TALK to the audience. Same goes the other way. No one likes to read someone talking, they like to read written English.

As future educator this is a very important aspect that people are blinded by. Though both, writing and spoken English, is essentially English, they should be taught and approach each to its own. Being a deaf individual this is one of the aspects that I could never understand till one day it just clicked. (I am not saying I am perfect, but the understanding of written and spoken English as their own have done wonders for my education.) I now love to read, I used to hate it. I now love to write, I also used to hate it. I may have been a late bloomer in that aspect. However, I am a firm believer that no matter your age or stage of your life you can be anything you want to be. Just work hard at it, and not just practice it, but to practice it at a new level, "Deliberate Practice" (something I recently learn from reading :thumbs.

Deliberate Practice requires a great deal of things, I will not bore you with the details but one of the important aspect of Deliberate Practice is to have a 3rd person view of your work, form, whatever it may be that you are practicing. I am proud to say that, though many people may not realize it, Cigarpass to its simplest form is just that. A 3rd person view of each and every individual that writes reviews, Group buys, passes, etc. For an example, some people may think Greg (Kingantz), is a natural cigar reviewer because people like what he writes. However, it goes to say that Greg, though a natural reviewer, would not be as interesting or as good as he is today without each person respond to his reviews either in a positive or negative light. Not to speak for Greg, but I am sure that he enjoys and can credit his success as being one of the better cigar reviewers here on Cigarpass, to each and everyone of you. Ending with that, thank you all, for this great site. LONG LIVE CIGAR PASS :laugh:


David

 

[merkinmullet]

While we're on the subject...

Pallet: a straw-filled tick or mattress; a small, hard, or temporary bed
Palette: a thin board that a painter holds and mixes pigments on; a comparable range, quality, or use of available elements
Palate: the roof of the mouth separating the mouth from the nasal cavity; the sense of taste

BTW, only since coming to CP have I noticed my previous misuse of these three. Now it is one of my biggest peeves.

 

[The Black Cloud]

With the influx of new members I thought I'd bump this. When I first joined it didn't seem like a big deal, after a couple months you really start to appreciate it. The thing that irks me recently is the lack of the shift key.

Call them out on it. If someone chooses not to abide by our rules, then they don't belong here. This isn't myspace, this is an adult community where grammar and spelling are taken seriously. Thanks for bumping this thread.

Rod, I appreciate you holding members to your higher standards.

I teach college sophomores & juniors and their writing skills are often underdeveloped. I wonder what students are taught in high school English classes? Improper grammar, no sense of punctuation, lack of organizational structure, imprecise topic sentences, and weak word choice are the rule rather than the exception. And I teach at a Big Ten university and a top 10 business school (and several sections of honor students).

I love taking a pen to their initial papers -- because I know those marks are the first step for them to improve over a 16 week semester.

So remember, if you call someone out on their writing you are doing them a favor. :thumbs:

I think the prevalence of it is due to not having many people or things in life that point out these things. I think we all have the ability to write in a proper and coherent manner but if there's nobody around to point out our flaws or hold us to a higher standard, then we get lazy.

Speaking for myself, I'm pretty anal retentive about my writing. I'm not saying I'm perfect (far from!) but intentionally misspelling something is something that requires effort from me.

But there is something to be said for writing the way one speaks. To me, it makes everything sound a bit more genuine. Ya know what I'm sayin'?

 

[DesertRat]

The advent of chat, instant messaging and texting has done more to harm the English language skills of our youth than anything else IMHO.

 

[MrErskine]

You ought to have to grade middle school papers sometime. I have learned a whole new language. You try to correct them all, but after a while your mind takes a vacation and you wind up questioning whether or not you know how to spell the word yourself. I have heard that it's worse for elementary teachers.

I will be taking a high school job next.

 

[ggiese]

With the influx of new members I thought I'd bump this. When I first joined it didn't seem like a big deal, after a couple months you really start to appreciate it. The thing that irks me recently is the lack of the shift key.

Call them out on it. If someone chooses not to abide by our rules, then they don't belong here. This isn't myspace, this is an adult community where grammar and spelling are taken seriously. Thanks for bumping this thread.

Rod, I appreciate you holding members to your higher standards.

I teach college sophomores & juniors and their writing skills are often underdeveloped. I wonder what students are taught in high school English classes? Improper grammar, no sense of punctuation, lack of organizational structure, imprecise topic sentences, and weak word choice are the rule rather than the exception. And I teach at a Big Ten university and a top 10 business school (and several sections of honor students).

I love taking a pen to their initial papers -- because I know those marks are the first step for them to improve over a 16 week semester.

So remember, if you call someone out on their writing you are doing them a favor. :thumbs:

Here's one for you to chew on... :whistling:

DriftMeister Explains Himself!

(Just graduated from College 1.5 years ago... )

 

[grateful1]

Sixpacks a good one!

 

[dulaney22]

I was an English major in undergrad and followed that up with a law degree. I too notice most typos and misuses and make the same mistakes at times I'm sure. However, I doubt anyone wants someone constantly calling out errors. You can look through most any thread and find numerous ones. I doubt this is the point of the request though . . . it appears more likely that the OP is just asking that people do their best.

 

[Smokin'Sims]

You should try correcting Arab/Chinese native speaker writing. I understand it is not their native language, but it takes a lot of effort and concentration to stay on task. I also found this website to be helpful for me as a corrector. I still get confused by things. I also don't think some people realize that sloppy writing, leads people to have a lower opinion of your intellect and person. They assume your uneducated and generally sloppy. I readily admit my writing skills are quit weak and I have suffered because of it on several grant applications.

 

[Deployed Humidor]

If you think some of the written communication you see here is bad, try correcting a bullet statement written by a Colonel trying to express how the actions of a human resources Captain won the War on Terrorism.

It's madness, pure madness I tell you!!

Cheers,

Tony

 

[JHolmes763]

If you think some of the written communication you see here is bad, try correcting a bullet statement written by a Colonel trying to express how the actions of a human resources Captain won the War on Terrorism.

Hey! Just approve my damn award, already! :sign:

 

[Deployed Humidor]

Award approved...wear it proudly!!

Cheers,

Tony