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Writing and grammar

Otis

Otis

Cyburbian
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Not sure if this is the right place for this, but here we are. I'm noticing a disturbing amount of grammar, spelling, and formatting errors in some of my staff's written reports. Spellcheck doesn't seem to be enough to address the problem. I'm hoping there are some good programs/courses that I can have staff people take in an effort to improve things. Any suggestions?
 
During my tenure in a P&Z office, basic literacy among staff stood out as the biggest problem. As a part timer I had no clout but one by one I advised best I could.
 
I don't have the answers but I'm interested to hear them. Barring that, sometimes I do send staff back with a draft they have written with the instructions that they "print it and read it out loud to yourself with a red pencil in your hand". It's the technique i use when I have a "final-final" draft of something and I want to root out the grammatical bugs that escape notice when I'm scrolling on a screen.
 
Otis! How's it going?

Formatting is what astounds me the most - like having the word memo at the top but then having a Dear so and so in the text and a salutation - so is this a memo or a letter, what's happening here?
 
@Otis ! I am crying. Are you happy? You made a perfectly nice weirdo cry on the internet today. It's good to see you! To your question, I have no idea. I have had older employees request to take courses in computer programs as simple as Word. That makes me wonder if there are simple on-line lessons you could direct folks to take that have to do with basic grammar and formatting, etc. I'm reasonably sure that there are. Your real challenge, to me, will be in delivering that suggestion without damaging egos and/or feelings to the point that it impacts other work.

I like @Faust_Motel 's suggestion. Reading that report or memo out loud is a fantastic idea - not just for grammar but for content. I find that when I've read my own idea in written form over and over it starts to make sense to me even when it doesn't actually make a lot of sense. :)
 
Spellcheck picks up on spelling errors usually pretty well, and is supposed to assist in grammar construction too, but I find it occasionally falls short. In fact here's a poem I came across illustrating the program's limitations:

Spell Czech

Eye halve a spelling chequer. It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word and weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write. It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid, it nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite. Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it, I am shore your pleased two no.
Its letter perfect in it's weigh. My chequer tolled me sew.
 
Otis!!

My coworker often asks me to check her emails. (She is a nasty communicator.) Many times I have her read aloud what she wrote. Like the Bend and Snap, works every time!
 
Perhaps you could front a copy or two of Strunk & White or the style manual of your choice for your office.

Really, though, the best way to write well is to read a lot, and read broadly and regularly.

Jim
 
If I'm looking for spelling I read it backwards, but I'm not the greatest proofreader.
 
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If it was me in that situation, I would try to make better writing a team effort. Say we all have to improve, use plain lEnglish instead of legalese, and ditch the "gravitas" and passive voice, with the intent of better transparency and comprehension. We all can improve our writing, even prose that's otherwise grammatically correct.
 
I like to sit on a report overnight and then go back, read, and say to myself W(why)TF did I write that? I always catch a few from/form errors.
 
Wondering if the plural of "Jack in the Box" is "Jacks in the Box," or "Jack in the Boxes."

The things my brain wonders about right after lunch.
 
Otis said:
Not sure if this is the right place for this, but here we are. I'm noticing a disturbing amount of grammar, spelling, and formatting errors in some of my staff's written reports. Spellcheck doesn't seem to be enough to address the problem. I'm hoping there are some good programs/courses that I can have staff people take in an effort to improve things. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...


I once overheard a father chewing out his kid:

KID: "SOMEONE STOLED MY PHONE!"
DAD: "'STOLED' IS NOT A WORD!!! USE PROPER GRAMMAR!"

Uh, I didn't say anything, but "stoled" is definitely a word. What the kid is saying is that someone put a stole--a garment worn by a member of clergy--over his phone.

I decided not to butt in.

Jim
 
What's your opinion of Oxford commas?

I just had a planner insist I pull one from the description I wrote because he hates them. I grew up thinking that they are preferred, but not "wrong" if missing.

In the end, I took it out since it's not a big deal, but I'm curious about what others think.

Jim
 
jumbach said:
What's your opinion of Oxford commas?

I just had a planner insist I pull one from the description I wrote because he hates them. I grew up thinking that they are preferred, but not "wrong" if missing.

In the end, I took it out since it's not a big deal, but I'm curious about what others think.

Jim
Click to expand...
I'm not using it as much.

I find that I'm using commas less often, even though I know they belong. I don't pause when I say what I'm writing (say, not read) and I just don't place them.
 
jumbach said:
What's your opinion of Oxford commas?

I just had a planner insist I pull one from the description I wrote because he hates them. I grew up thinking that they are preferred, but not "wrong" if missing.

In the end, I took it out since it's not a big deal, but I'm curious about what others think.

Jim
Click to expand...
I don't think about them, care about them and pay attention to them.
 
Speaking of grammar...my son's high school yearbook is filled with spelling errors. The "Latinos in Action Club" is "Lations."
 
SlaveToTheGrind said:
Speaking of grammar...my son's high school yearbook is filled with spelling errors. The "Latinos in Action Club" is "Lations."
Click to expand...
Well, "lation" is a word, if a somewhat esoteric one. It involves the movement of a celestial body. (The same root as the word "lateral,") So if the Latinos are also astronomers, that could be correct.

Jim
 
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