Clear communication starts here Your Words Your Brand A great story will be destroyed by poor writing Studies have shown poor grammar makes readers question Intelligence Trustworthiness ID: 484781
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Slide1
Grammar: Why Does It Matter?
Clear communication starts here.Slide2
Your Words = Your Brand
A great story will be destroyed by poor writing.
Studies have shown poor grammar makes
readers question:
Intelligence
Trustworthiness
Quality
Potentially everything you write in the futureSlide3
So who notices?
Your readers
Employers, supporters
And 420,000 people (and growing) on Facebook who are fans of “I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar”
(Also now a popular book)Slide4
Does your message make sense?Slide5
Check the spelling.Slide6Slide7Slide8
Watch for unintended double meanings.
Are you mocking someone?Slide9
The tiniest proofing error can equal disaster.Story: incumbents = incompetents
Proof. Proof again.Slide10
Result
“The three incompetents seeking reelection were at Wednesday’s debate.”Slide11
Common Mistakes
too, to, two
To
is used as a direction or in comparison.
Too
is used when describing excessiveness or meaning in addition.
And
two
is, well, 2!Slide12
there, their, they’reThere is a place.
Their
is a pronoun.
They’re
means they are.Slide13
It’s vs. itsIt’s means it is.
Its
is the possessive form, showing ownership.Slide14
Who or whom? Use who
when it can be replaced by or answered with he.
Who asked for the ice cream? He asked for ice cream.
Use whom
when the word can be replaced by him.
To whom should I give this ice cream? You should give the ice cream to him. Slide15
Then and than Than is used to contrast objects.
Then
is used in a time sequence. Slide16
It’s not “could of” or “would of.” It’s “could have” or “would have.”Slide17
lay or lie Lay is an action word.
Please lay the book on the table.
Lie
is to recline on a horizontal plane.
He lies on the beach all day.
Lie also means to make something untrue.
Thou shall not lie.Slide18
Passive voice vs. active voicePassive: The tuition bill was paid by his mom.
Active:
His mom paid the tuition bill.Slide19
Does it sound like Master Yoda?Slide20
Tricks, tools and where to look
AP Stylebook
Dictionary
Google News
Don’t be afraid to look things up!Slide21
Key Areas of the AP Stylebook
Datelines –
There are about 20 U.S. cities that stand alone without their states. Slide22
State abbreviations – Postal codes are different. I mail something to Globe, AZ but news reports come from Globe, Ariz. Slide23
Numbers – Spell out 1-9 (one through nine) and use figures for 10 and greater.Slide24
Capitalization – Avoid unnecessary capitals. Ex: Job categories are not capitalized.
She is a Nurse. He is a Teacher. Slide25
Titles (people and compositions) – How do you write about the president or a popular TV show?Slide26
There are six things wrong here:
Two administrators and 3 teachers have resigned from Galena Park ISD after district officials found evidence of staff-led cheating on the high-stakes TAKS test.
The resignations came Monday from Dianne Edwards, the principle of Normandy Crossing Elementary School; assistant principle Tonia Bush; and three unnamed teachers, according to district spokesman Craig Eichhorn. He said two other teachers initially suspected of being involved have been cleared of wrongdoing.
Because of the suspected cheating, all fifth-grade students at Normandy Crossing will have to retake the math and reading sections of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills the last week of June, Eichhorn said.
The district's investigation found evidence that staff changed fifth-graders' answers on the TAKS in April and also helped students correct wrong answers.
The district plans to complete it’s investigation by Friday, Smith said, and has turned over it’s findings so far to the Texas Education Agency. The incident could affect the school's and the district's accountability ratings.