Clarity

I wrote this last night at the behest of an online university that is considering using me as an "adjunct teaching assistant", mostly to help students sharpen their writing skills.  I thought it might be worth posting in this forum.  Here it is...

Success guru Brian Tracy has famously (and repeatedly) said “clarity is power”.  He was referring, of course, to clarity in relation to one’s personal and business success, but the same concept applies to communications, both verbal and written.  A lack of skill and understanding of the rules of grammar and spelling can often have the effect of obscuring the message one is trying to get across.  A misspelled word or misplaced comma can fundamentally change the meaning of a sentence.

There is a well-known book on grammar entitled “Eats, Shoots and Leaves”.  While the book as a whole is an entertaining read and provides a good number of easily digestible grammar lessons the title provides us with a lesson in itself.  Reading the title “Eat, Shoots and Leaves” implies that a character has had a quick bite to eat, perhaps shot someone and then left the vicinity.  Now imagine removing that comma.  The phrase would now be “Eats Shoots and Leaves”.  This brings to mind a rather more benign image of an animal (perhaps the panda on the book’s cover) merely eating some shoots and leaves.

One’s grammar and spelling can also have a significant effect on the perception others might have of you.  I happen to be single and I have spent some time on the internet dating sites that are so popular these days.  I have recently retired from the use of such sites for a variety of reasons.  One of those reasons is that so many of the profiles of prospective daters are riddled with severe spelling and grammatical errors, often to the point of laughability.  These very same women may be as intelligent and well-spoken as anyone else (if not more so) but I certainly have to wonder given the lax amount of attention given to their written communications.  I also am forced to wonder about their attention to detail and personal discipline.  Word processors with spell check that will even give grammar help are readily available so this somewhat begs the question of how much effort or care these individuals have put into their profiles.

The same could be said about perception in an academic environment.  Imagine a student who has prepared an otherwise excellent essay for, say, a business class.  They may have come up with some original, perhaps even groundbreaking thoughts about organizational development in high-growth companies.  They might have conducted endless hours of research and interviews.  Unfortunately, when they turn in this paper with awkward grammar and poor spelling, this will have an adverse effect on their grade and such errors will often obscure the point they are trying to make.

The ultimate intent of following the rules of grammar and spelling is not to be regimented for it’s own sake, but rather to provide a degree of clarity that will enable the writer’s ideas to shine forth, rather than be hidden under layers of poor writing and spelling.  I always encourage people I know to shore up their writing skills as best they can.  This ensures that their letter, resume, term paper or what have you will communicate what it’s intended to and the writer’s ideas will have the chance they deserve to heard.