A Few Thoughts On Grammar In Your Papers

There are two main approaches to the study of usage: prescriptive and descriptive. Prescriptivism involves the laying down of rules by those claiming to have special knowledge of or feeling for a language. Prescriptive advice tends to be conservative, changes being regarded with suspicion if not disdain. Descriptivism involves the objective description of the way a language works as observed in actual examples of the language. Descriptive advice--almost an oxymoron--about the acceptability of a word or construction is based solely on usage. (Sheidlower, Jesse (1996, December). Elegant variation and all that. The Atlantic Monthly, 278(6), 112.)

The advice I'm offering below is prescriptive. I don't know how "special" my knowledge of written English is, but one way or another I want to make it less special by making it known to you.

Others wish to do this too. They write whole books on the subject, called “manuals of style” or “style guides.” If you do not own such a thing, I strongly encourage you to buy one. And don't sell it back to the bookstore when you graduate; keep it forever. Use it at work. Refer to it when you write love letters. Pass it on to your children.

Below I review several of the more common grammatical errors I've seen in papers during my career. I want to give you a head start in avoiding them when you submit papers to me. This is a bargain between you and me. I will offer you this advice, and you will not indulge in these particular errors on your papers. If you make the mistakes that I describe below on your papers, your grade will suffer. But I promise that I will do all I can to help you avoid these mistakes. You can consult with me, give me drafts of your paper, and generally count on me to support your efforts to write properly.

You might feel that these strict rules limit your creativity with the English language. You're right! They do! If you're convinced that these limits make it impossible for you to write a good paper, then I can only reply: kegirefk rhg grap gpr ;s1 gheogeojg1 gheisd45gruhgg 6(* hg.

I hope you'll understand.

Grammar tips:

Media is a plural word.

That means that you never write "The media is powerful." The media are powerful. The singular form of media is "medium." Television is a medium. Television and the Internet are media. When you've written a paper, do a word search for "media" and look at the context in which you've used it. Make sure that it is always a plural, and where it's not, make the appropriate correction.

"It's" always is a contraction of "it is."

"It's" never refers to a possessive form of "it." The word "its" -- without the apostrophe -- is the possessive for it. This can seem counterintuitive, since the apostrophe and "s" generally forms a possessive. But think of "its" as the non-gender version of "his" and "hers." These words are possessive too, with no apostrophe.

Which brings up the more general point of possessive apostrophes.

Possessive Apostrophes

If you wish to claim that something belongs to someone or something, then you'll probably need a possessive apostrophe. For instance, if you've claimed that the media are powerful, you may wish to refer to "the media's power" elsewhere. So a possessive apostrophe (media's) and the letter s are added to the word media. Jim's bicycle, Jane's dress, Adam's job, the company's insurance, the world's news source, are all phrases that demand a possessive apostrophe for the noun. When you have a plural noun that ends in s, such as "students," the apostrophe goes after the s: The students' grades.

Quotation Marks

In the United States , all commas and periods go inside quotation marks. There are no exceptions. Ever. So, put all commas and periods inside your quotation marks. In Great Britain , things are different. If you wish to use British punctuation, then you'll have to use British spelling too, such as harbour and gaol. If you really want to do this, it would be best to have a British accent too, otherwise I'll think you're just trying to get away with putting periods and commas outside quotation marks. Oddly, colons and semi- colons go outside quotation marks in the United States . In the paragraphs above, you'll find all sorts of examples of periods and commas inside quotation marks.

Italics

Names of ships (including spacecraft, such as a satellite or the shuttle Challenger), titles of books, titles of magazines, titles of newspapers, titles of CDs or record albums (or cassette tapes, or 8-track tapes), titles of movies, and titles of TV shows are all, always, italicized or underlined. (Not italicized and underlined, just one or the other.) A particular episode of a TV show, or a particular song on a recorded collection, or a single story in a newspaper or magazine is put in quotation marks. Example: "Nights in White Satin" is the only truly enduring song from The Moody Blues' album Dreams of Future Past.

Plurality

Do not use plural pronouns to refer to singular nouns. That means that when you write something like "A computer user can easily gain access to the World Wide Web these days by contacting a service provider," you must then refer to that computer user in the singular in the future. So the next sentence cannot read "They can find service providers in the Yellow Pages." People use the plural "they" often to avoid a gendered pronoun such as "he" or "she."

When the subject of the pronoun could be of either gender (such as computer users), you have a few better choices. One is to simply use "he or she." This is less cumbersome to read than you might think. Another is to make the original reference plural, so that "they" is appropriate (e.g. "Computer users can easily gain access . . ."). Both of these methods are strictly grammatically correct and avoid confusion. When the subject of the pronoun could not possibly be of one particular gender, it is appropriate to use the gender-specific singular (e.g. "Each U.S. President has dealt with the media differently. He has developed his own style to suit the times.")

Effect and Affect

The word effect is generally a noun. "Grammar can have quite an effect on your grade." Note the reference to "an effect," which could be "an onion," "an apple," or "an orangutan"--in short, any other noun. Affect is generally a verb. "Grammar will affect your grade." Note that now grammar will do something.

There are two rare exceptions to this. The word effect is sometimes used as a verb, as in "She worked to effect a change in policy." You're perfectly welcome to use the word this way, as long as you do it correctly. By the same token, affect is sometimes a noun, referring to psychological study of emotion. When used this way, the word is pronounced differently: AF-fect. You may come across the word used this way in media effects studies.

Led, Lead

The past tense of "lead" (when it rhymes with "bead") is led. When the word "lead" is pronounced to rhyme with bed, you are referring to the element that fills pencils and makes bullets.

Downfalls and Reticence

One error that I've only started seeing in papers in the last four years or so (at several colleges) is misuse of the word "downfall." It is frequently used in places where the word “drawback" would be appropriate. Here is an example of using downfall incorrectly: "One downfall of taking Loges's class is that you have to write properly." A downfall is a failure, or a fall from grace. A proper example: "Loges's downfall was brought about by his insistence that his students write properly." Search for this word when you've finished your paper, and if the word "drawback" or the word "disadvantage" would fit in the place you're using "downfall," replace downfall with one of the other words.

Another odd misuse of a word that has become common these days is the word “reticent,” used where “reluctant” is more sensible. To be reticent is to be quiet. One should not write “Jane was reticent to speak.” That makes no sense. “Jane was reticent” is sensible, and means that “Jane was reluctant to speak.” If I hear one more pundit on TV use this word incorrectly I’m going to hurl a shoe through the screen.

Citation

There are many different styles of citation, and I have no particular concern for which you decide to use. Two things to remember: (1) You should choose one and only one style, so that you're consistent throughout your paper, and (2) you should strive to provide the reader with enough information about your sources so that the reader could find the sources if he or she desired. So when you're not certain how to cite something (such as an internet home page), and if a style guide is no help, do your best to provide all the information someone would need to find what you found.

There is no citation style that condones or disguises plagiarism. I detest plagiarism, and if I suspect it I investigate it vigorously. Here are some unacceptable citation practices that are plagiarism: (1) copying verbatim passages from a source without putting them in quotation marks, but citing the source in general at the end of the paragraph or paper; (2) using the interpretations and ideas of another author without citing that author, even if you rephrase those ideas in your own words; (3) re-typing entire articles out of obscure journals and submitting it as your own work.

If you're not sure whether what you're doing is plagiarism, there are a couple of things you can do to check it out. One is to talk to me. That can't possibly be more scary than what will happen to you if I find out that you did plagiarize. Another is to talk to a librarian. They are generally pretty bored and lonely, and enjoy being approached. A third is to consult a manual of style. That has the advantage of not having to confess that you're not sure about something, but a style guide can be vague if you're in a gray area.

I expect you to cite a source for every statement of fact you make in your paper, or at least be prepared to do so. So, for instance, if you say "the media teach children to be violent perverts," I expect you to support that statement by citing a source. How do you know such a thing? If, on the other hand, you write "I believe that the media teach children to be violent perverts," then you need not cite a source. Now you're stating opinion, not fact. But I don’t recommend filling your paper with a bunch of unsubstantiated opinion.

If you state a common fact, such as "Bill Clinton was re-elected President in 1996," then you need not cite a source. Obviously, there is lots of gray area here. What is a common fact? This is what I mean by being prepared to cite a source. If you've decided that something you claim is so obvious that it needs no cited support, I might disagree. That does not immediately hurt your grade. But if I am really interested, I might give you a week or so to come up with a citation for the fact. I never do this arbitrarily, or just to test you. I'll only do it if I think you may be assuming too much in your paper.

Conclusion

Writing grammatically correct memos, letters, reports, press releases, poems, editorials, graffiti, ransom notes, manifestos, and other material is one of the indications of education. You might protest that this is elitist and perpetuates class division. No duh! If you wish to declare yourself opposed to such repression, I will be happy to hear your arguments, but only if they are prefaced by a review of the media's reaction to the Oakland School District 's declaration regarding Ebonics in December, 1996.