Grammar Nazi

I don’t want to be a grammar nazi but I think people, especially students, should write properly. It would have been easier if I didn’t understand what is written so I can just ignore and delete it. Unfortunately, I’m not that old – no offence to old people – but I wonder if they’d write differently to a senior professor.

While of course, I shouldn’t expect proper grammar in an informal email to arrange for a consultation meeting, we are seeing this abbreviated electronic communication language in formal test and exam scripts too. Students in my class actually asked me recently whether they should write full sentences in the essay part of the coming final exam, and I thought “WTF?!” Some lecturers allow them to just give bullet points, they say, and only look for key points.

Call me old-fashioned, but I think proper grammar is very important. It doesn’t have to be perfect – I know mine isn’t – but one should be able to properly spell words and form sentences. When dealing with complex concepts and ideas, proper grammar helps us order our thoughts. It is also important to ensure that the information we wish to convey is correctly understood by the reader.