B.P.P.N.A.G. : Blog Post Pertaining to Newly Appreciated Grammar

In English 326, a number of topics have been discussed or demonstrated: dashes, apostrophes, colons, commas, and finally semi-colons (my personal favorite form of punctuation to include in my own writing).  I think the main element of the “lectures” –GRAMMAR IS TOO MUCH FUN TO USE SUCH A DRY TERM AS LECTURE TO CLASSIFY THE TEACHING OF IT– for the week was apostrophes. 

The lesson about apostrophe’s stands out most to me because I felt singled out by it–NOT BECAUSE I CAN’T USE THEM, BUT BECAUSE MY LAST NAME IS SMITH. The Smiths/Smith’s/Smiths’ examples were awkward for me to learn from because it felt personal.  Now despite me saying that I felt singled out, I really was not unhappy about it or embarrassed.  I just felt the proverbial imaginary spot light on me.  I am not sure that I mastered the apostrophe unit, but I feel pretty comfortable with them due to the fact that I speak my native tongue fairly well in my own estimation.  I imagine for ESL students they are incredibly tough, and I plan on remembering that when I am teaching.

 

This past week the thing that was solidified in my mind the most was using the dash.  In fact, I took my new found confidence and sprinkled the character in hundreds of places where before I had sufficed to use parenthetical commas or some other element of our writing standards.  The parenthetical commas are hard to let go of–THEY WERE THE FIRST GRAMMAR LESSON I REALLY REMEMBER LEARNING FROM MY MOM­–but there is just something so… noteworthy.  Essentially, the extra emphasis is something that can really make the points in my writing I find to be particularly brilliant stand out.  I feel that I can use this strongly in all the areas where I write: fiction, sports (and grammar) blogging, and of course my academic writing.  I can see it really taking my sports writing’s statistical analysis to the next level…

"Player A will undoubtedly improve team B more than the critics expect–STATISTICAL CORRELATION I FOUND POURING OVER MY HUNDREDS OF HOME MADE SPREAD SHEETS.

One question that I have about the work we learned this week would be this: how can we share the grammar conventions we learned so easily this week with less experienced writers?

R.B.P.P.G.U. : Reflective Blog Post Pertaining to Grammar Usage

This semester I would like to improve as a writer in many ways.  One problem I find in my writing, more so now than ever, is mixing in enough short sentences, and knowing when to make long sentences into two different sentences.  One such example of a ridiculously long sentence comes from a paper I wrote in English 302, “The dictionary, which Twain tongue in cheek address’ formally throughout “Roughing It” by always including “Unabridged” in the dictionaries title, serves the purpose of standardizing language and assimilating the West into the U.S., this relates to Lewis and Clark because their journals can be seen as a dictionary of the Western frontier.”  That sentence is incredibly long; in fact it is 52 words.  Several long sentences were placed around this one as well, making it quite a chore to read.  This paper in particular, comparing Mark Twain’s writing to Lewis and Clark’s was a cumbersome piece overall to read, being that almost ninety percent of it was sentences I would, objectively, classify as long.  I feel my academic writing could benefit a lot from a more diverse mixture of long and short sentences. 

This is a problem that also frequently sneaks into my sports writing, which is a big no-no.  By nature, sports articles are supposed to consist of short sentences that are straight to the point.  This leads me to another area where improvement would go a long way towards making me a better writer.  I often, now more so than ever, mix the various styles of writing.  Personally, I write sports blog articles online, I work intermittently on a fantasy novel that is a true passion of mine, and I obviously do the writing that is required of me for class. 

One final area of grammar where I struggle particularly is punctuation.  Specifically, I avoid using the dash and colon in my writing.  While I have little trouble with the comma, semi-colon (thank you Microsoft word for teaching me that one), or period; I never have the courage to place a colon or a dash into my work.  I know my lack of knowledge pertaining to these characters within English come from the roots of where I learned to write.  I went to an alternative elementary and middle school, so when I went to high school I found myself very behind as far as writing went.  Everything I learned, before and during high school) was from the edits, corrections, and revisions my parents made to my work.  While both of them were well educated and intelligent in their own right, they only really knew so much.  Neither of them spent much time in college learning to write, my mother was an accountant by trade and my dad is an attorney.  I learned everything they were able to teach me, and it has made me an above average writer, in my humble opinion; but now I would like to know more than they could teach me.  Starting with being able to use the dash and colon in my writing effectively. 

All things considered, I would love to see myself improve in a few areas of writing related to grammar usage (mentioned above) so that I can be a better writer.