Only one-third of America’s eighth-grade students, and about one in four high school seniors, are proficient writers.
Only one-third of America’s eighth-grade students, and about one in four high school seniors, are proficient writers, according to results of a nationwide study described in a NY Times article published earlier this year.
Federal school officials said they were encouraged by the results because there were modest improvements in students’ writing skills in comparison to a previous year’s results. I find this disturbing. Shouldn’t we have higher expectations for our schools? Businesses, take note: approximately 75 percent of all high school seniors will graduate without possessing basic writing skills. Here’s your future workforce, America.
Money quote from the article: “James Billington, the librarian of Congress, drew ... Read more »
If you’re not getting your fill of grammar fun at the Brilliant Blog, check out the Grammar Girl’s quick and dirty tips for better writing: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/. The tips are in audio format so you can listen to them online or download them to your iPod. You can also read transcripts of each episode online. Thanks to Susan for calling our attention to this cute and informative site!
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First things first: I have a writing business, but I have no intention of being the grammar/punctuation police. My interest is in helping companies tell compelling stories about their business, not strictly regulating the placement of every period, comma and quotation mark. That said, being a good writer means understanding the basics of both grammar and punctuation, and reviewing the rules is helpful for everyone, including me!
Commas can be troublesome little devils, so here are a few basic rules about their use and placement that I compiled from my beloved and dog-eared AP Stylebook. I’ll share additional grammar and punctuation tips here from time to time and would love to hear your suggestions for specific topics!
Commas in a series, ...
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I’m not the only one who hates “at the end of the day.” Thanks to Matt for calling my attention to today’s Wired blog posting, which lists the 10 most irritating phrases in the English language according to University of Oxford researchers. Topping the list? “At the end of the day!” Check it out:
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/11/oxford-research.html
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Drum roll, please! Here’s the conclusion of the top 10 words and phrases we’d like to eliminate from all business communications materials:
6. Leverage
I’m really embarrassed to admit this, but I only recently learned that leverage is a noun, not a verb. I’ve seen it used almost exclusively as a verb throughout my professional career. Besides the fact that it’s completely overused, your legal team might also have a problem with its use. All good reasons to avoid it.
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