Comments for The Essay Expert Blog

Comment on Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday words we use every day. by The Essay Expert

The Essay Expert — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:15:14 +0000

Thank you Melody! I have read conflicting articles about the effect of texting on students. Apparently, one study found that frequent texting makes students better spellers because they learn to sound things out phonetically. Another article reported on the inability of students to use proper grammar due to the laziness that accompanies electronic communications. The one thing I know for sure is that language is rapidly evolving and will continue to do so! I welcome new words (like “texting” for instance, which my spell check does not recognize) and sometimes there is a fine line between incorrect language and evolving language.

Comment on Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday words we use every day. by Melody Meyer

Melody Meyer — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:07:00 +0000

I loved your article. It is easy to forget those simple lessons from childhood; and also, to forget to proofread what we write before we send it out. Especially with the time constraints most of us are under.

I wonder, (and maybe you have a theory), what will happen to written and spoken languages now that tweets and texts have entered most of our everday lives?

Comment on The Quandary of Quotation Marks (” “) by Marji Yablon

Marji Yablon — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:58:49 +0000

Up until today, I never doubted that punctuation — any punctuation — that wasn’t part of a quote should go outside the quotation marks. After reading your post, out of curiosity, I skimmed some of my published articles. In every one of them, that little habit of mine had been corrected, so that it all agreed with the rules as you have explained them. In any back-and-forth I’d done with an editor, I had failed to notice that change — or maybe it had come later.

So, thanks. From now on, I can give them their punctuation correctly from the start. But perhaps some day, I’ll write the original version of something for a British publication. Then, I’ll be able to both BE correct and FEEL correct!

Comment on The Quandary of Quotation Marks (” “) by Joel Segel

Joel Segel — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:09:40 +0000

One exception to the American ruling regarding commas and periods: If the exact characters in the quote are important, as in the case of a password, then periods and commas should be left outside the quotation marks:

Example: Click on LOG IN. Enter your name for USERNAME. For PASSWORD enter “lollipop”, then click OK.

Comment on Crash Blossoms – from the NYT by dan bloom

dan bloom — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:01:00 +0000

if you liked Crash Blossoms, which i sort of kind of coined but I’d prefer to give full credit to Mike O’Connell, he made it all happen….here’s my latest coinage: I wrote THE SNAILPAPER STATEMENT today, and here’s a preview:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that while the Digital Age is upon us fast and furious, the print newspaper — hereafter dubbed the “snailpaper” — shall persevere as a good daily read, a fascinating look at the world around us and a valuable tool for understanding oped pundits and above the fold headlines. Sure, the dear snailpaper will also be seen as a useful tool

for wrapping fish at the Fulton Fish Market or lining the bird cage in the den, but all kidding aside — har! har! — the daily snailpaper can hold its head high and be certain of its place in the culture. While news migrates in pixels and bytes to the Internet at an exponential rate, piling breaking story upon breaking story and turning everyone and his mother into a 24/7 news freak and RSS aggregator, the plodding snailpaper will nevertheless remain the bedrock of analysis and insight, from sea to shining sea, delivered at a snail’s pace, yes, read at a snail’s pace, yes, and absorbed, word for word — on glorius printed paper! white newsprint reflecting inked letters! — at a snail’s pace, yes, as long as the Republic of Letters shall live.”

Full blast here:

http://zippy1300.blogspot.com/2010/02/snailpaper-statement-mini-version-by.html

Comment on Common Grammatical Errors: Between You and Me by Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:19:22 +0000

Thank you for explaining that so nicely and with such patience. I have more patience with grammatical errors coming from people who have grown up with it and haven’t changed than I do with those who are well educated and use “I” instead of “me” such as, “Please return your papers to Susan or I, rather than me. I don’t get it. How could it be missed after all the years of school, writing papers and speaking? It happens more frequently than any other. Nails on a chalkboard!

Comment on The Quandary of Quotation Marks (” “) by Anne Kelley

Anne Kelley — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 04:18:12 +0000

I’m not sure I’ve ever been informed about international differences regarding quotation mark rules — thanks for the crash course!

Comment on Common Grammatical Errors: Everyday words we use every day. by Ravi Kumar

Ravi Kumar — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:57:01 +0000

Hi,

I must admit a blog like this is necessary considering how many errors we get to see every day.

How about writing one – if you have not already done so – on how to use the word “unless” in everyday English, written and spoken?

Comment on The Quandary of Quotation Marks (” “) by The Essay Expert

The Essay Expert — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:05:06 +0000

Thanks for your great comment, Pattie! Yes, to clarify, your readers’ expectations and demands always come first. If you are writing professionally in any country, find out which style guide your employer wants you to use and follow it! It is for personal correspondence or other unregulated writing that I believe the writer gets to choose.

Comment on The Quandary of Quotation Marks (” “) by Pattie Whitehouse

Pattie Whitehouse — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:17:26 +0000

Brenda said: “What if I’m Canadian? All bets are off (or on, as the case may be), in Canada. Do it the way you think your readers will expect you to do it. As far as I can tell, you get to choose.”

Most refer to the Canadian Press Stylebook and its companion volume, Caps and Spelling. With respect to whether commas and periods go within or outside of quotation marks, the standard in Canada is that (most of the time) they go within.

If you write for a publication, regardless of where it is based, the best idea is to check what standards that publication uses and conform to them.

In personal writing, maybe, you get to choose, but in professional writing, your client or employer is the one who gets to choose.