Grammar and Style

Grammar and style are important in written communication for several reasons. First, proper grammar helps the audience comprehend the message. Improper grammar may lead to ambiguous statements that might be misinterpreted, thus sending the wrong message. Second, proper grammar and style make a piece of text easier and more enjoyable to read. Oftentimes, I will start reading a post or a comment in a blog and stop reading because the text has too many grammar errors or the style is awkward. Third, proper grammar establishes credibility while improper grammar indicates that the author lacks the skills to be an author.

Style and delivery are important in political rhetoric because the purpose of political rhetoric is to persuade the audience to accept or reject an idea or proposal. Good style and delivery will help attract the attention of the audience so as to introduce the information and evidence in support of the viewpoint. On the other hand, poor style and delivery will bore the audience and cause their attention to fade away, thus, wasting time talking or writing to an inattentive crowd.

I feel like I struggle with unity within a paragraph. Oftentimes, I become confused as to when to create a new paragraph or continue to add more information to the paragraph I am writing. However, by maintaining focus on the topic sentence, I think I gain a better understanding of what should be added to a paragraph. Strong topic sentences at or near the beginning of the paragraph help maintain unity in a paragraph. I always start my paragraph with the topic sentence because to do so makes it easier for me to maintain focus. Once I have established support for the topic sentence, I know I am ready to begin the next paragraph.

Coherence also challenges me. However, by remembering that all paragraphs must have support for the topic sentence, I can begin the next paragraph with the topic sentence that relates somehow to that support. For example, in an article I wrote comparing and contrasting how adults learn languages differently, I added one paragraph with the topic sentence: “Children begin learning the input of spoken language when they begin to understand simple phrases”.  The next paragraph began with the topic sentence that reads: “Unlike children who have an uncluttered mind ready to absorb language like a dry sponge, adults already think in their first language”. The two paragraphs are connected by the two contrasting phrases, Children and unlike children.

Development is a challenge for me. However, with more practice and attention to the principles in the PowerPoint presentation, I think I will improve my development. I must remember to support my topic sentence with both hard evidence and soft evidence, expounding on the hard evidence first and then presenting the soft evidence. Hopefully, I will improve.

The most challenging part of writing for me is the revision. It seems like no matter how many times I proofread my writings, I find errors after turning in the assignment. In my last week assignment, I found an error of a misplaced comma, an error that I very seldom comment. The error is in this sentence. “Congress is not a dictator but, rather a representative, of the people”. The red comma is misplaced. The comma should be after rather, thus, the proper sentence would read, “Congress is not a dictator but rather, a representative, of the people”. I think the reason I did not catch this error is that I made some last-minute additions right before submitting the assignment. I must have been tired!