Grammar Cartoon

Check That Spell Check

Have you ever sent an email to a colleague or potential client only to realize afterward that you wrote ‘form’ instead of ‘from’? Or, have you ever turned in a paper to a professor thinking, this paper is perfection incarnate, only to receive it back with red slashes marking verb agreement errors and sentence fragments? If you have ever found yourself in a similar situation, then you know the frustrations of relying on a grammar checking software to proofread your work.

Software companies have made enormous advances in technology, and every time my spell check finds where I’ve written ‘teh’ instead of ‘the,’ I am grateful. But language is complex, and while computer programmers are excellent at generating code that follows rules, it is nearly impossible to generate all the rules for a given language. Studies that have been conducted on the strength of software that attempts to generate these rules have found that, at best, grammar programs catch only about 50 percent of the 20 most common errors made by writers (see this University of Washington professor’s page regarding the Microsoft version).

It is becoming increasingly clear that the more we generate rules about language, the more we realize that ‘rules’ are really ‘guidelines’ and as such, are very difficult to manipulate into a computer code. People like Noam Chomsky have dedicated their life to figuring out the ‘rules’ of language. If you’ve ever studied Chomsky’s work, you’d find that for every rule, there are exceptions, and this creates an extremely complex network of guidelines about language. And Chomsky is only describing how language works, not how to use it. The folks at the Modern Language Association do more of the prescribing. But even if you read the MLA handbook, you will find exceptions to most grammar rules. This is precisely why depending on a computer program to ensure that your grammar is correct is a mistake.

What one needs with an important document – and let’s face it, when that email goes to a client, or that paper goes to a professor, it’s important – is a set of human eyes. Where a computer may not be able to understand complexities, a human can. When you want to present your work to someone who it is essential that you impress, you want to make sure it is the best that it can be. You may have brilliant ideas, but the moment a reader sees a misspelling or an incorrect semicolon, you will lose their trust. If you want to ensure that a reader is evaluating you on your ideas, rather than your grammar, you must be sure that the text you produce is clean. The best way to ensure a clean text is to get someone to read it who knows the rules of language, but even more, who knows when these rules have exceptions.

by Lane Patterson, ©2007 Alphabetix. All Rights Reserved.

Make Time to Write

Being a writer is no milk and cookies. The hardest obstacle to overcome is to find time to write, and in this crazy world filled with jobs, commutes, families, and a multitude of timetables to contend with, it’s a miracle your pen ever meets the page. Try to live by the following mantra:

To be a writer, I must write.
In order to write, I must find time to write.
To find time to write, I must have a plan.

Sure, I know exactly what you are thinking; easier said than done, right? Well, with a game plan, you too can be a productive member of the writing community. Here’s how.

Try getting up a half hour earlier each morning. Use this time to write, and not to get more brush strokes in on the dental care. If you can get up a half hour early each weekday, you gain two and a half hours of writing time a week.

Block out one afternoon a week. Unplug the phone, leave chores unfinished, and find a private space where you won’t be interrupted. Try a local library, coffee shop, or park. Do not fear being anti-social, for writing is a solo craft. Explaining to love ones your desire to have this time for your writing will allow them to appreciate your creative muse.

Carry a notebook at all times. You will be surprised how often the muse will call while you are buying groceries, or how the ride home on the bus unfolds a splendor of urban fauna outside your window. Take full advantage of waiting time. So next time you have to wait an extra fifteen minutes in the doctors waiting room, you should be writing.

Be creative when your body tells you differently. Can’t sleep at night? Then get out of bed and write. It’s more productive than laying there counting dots on the ceiling. Feel like taking a day off from working out due to sore muscles? Not a problem, exercise your imagination instead.

Finally, when all else fails, befriend other writers and join a writers’ group. You will be surprised how deadlines and weekly requirements of sharing your writing develop a necessity to not only write, but also polish your writing for the sake of sharing.

All in all, enjoy the process of writing, and you’ll find what works best for you.

by Jean Cameron, ©2007 Alphabetix. All Rights Reserved.