Many students think we teachers are nit-picky meanies when it comes to grammar, trying our hardest to find the tiniest faults in student papers. Perhaps there are a few weirdos out there who gain some sadistic pleasure from the red pen, but in reality, most of us approach grammar from a pretty practical perspective.
Obviously grammar, vocabulary, and other elements of our English language are constantly evolving, but for the most part, the rules we follow in grammatical construction remain relatively constant. Those rules are the fundamentals we must stick to--like rules in sports, it's a lot easier to participate when everybody follows the same guidelines. Just think, how would mathematics ever progress if no one agreed on basic multiplication or that 1/2 b x h = area of a triangle? By following the basic rules, everyone can understand each other more easily. Grammatical mistakes lead to distraction and confusion for your reader. And a distracted or confused reader is a reader that won't be reading your work for very long. Never give your reader a reason for wanting to give up on your work.
There are a few other reasons why grammar is so important. A short newspaper article last week has identified a list of ten that I think are pretty solid. (I'm not so sure about grammar helping you get dates, but I'd love that to be true.) Take a look at the list, and start cleaning up that grammar!
Obviously grammar, vocabulary, and other elements of our English language are constantly evolving, but for the most part, the rules we follow in grammatical construction remain relatively constant. Those rules are the fundamentals we must stick to--like rules in sports, it's a lot easier to participate when everybody follows the same guidelines. Just think, how would mathematics ever progress if no one agreed on basic multiplication or that 1/2 b x h = area of a triangle? By following the basic rules, everyone can understand each other more easily. Grammatical mistakes lead to distraction and confusion for your reader. And a distracted or confused reader is a reader that won't be reading your work for very long. Never give your reader a reason for wanting to give up on your work.
There are a few other reasons why grammar is so important. A short newspaper article last week has identified a list of ten that I think are pretty solid. (I'm not so sure about grammar helping you get dates, but I'd love that to be true.) Take a look at the list, and start cleaning up that grammar!