Why Grammar Matters

1. Why Grammar Matters A Discussion

2. Why grammar is important: • Writing is used in nearly all professional jobs • A recent study showed that the #1 predictor of an employee’s career success was his/her writing skills and ability to communicate in a professional manner on the job: • in memos • in briefs • in reports • in emails • in writing to clients • in proposals • in presentations • in evaluations

3. Larry, an economist (and manager in his dept): • In my line of work, writing is crucial because we are trying to convince potential adversarial parties (e.g. auditing firms and tax authorities) of the merits of the clients' positions with respect to their pricing policies. This means that those parties are going to be taking a very critical look at not only the merits and the structure of the argument, but even in fact missed details such as misspellings, improper grammar, and the like.  If they believe that we have not put sufficient effort into crafting a well-thought out and well-stated argument, they are more likely to approach it as suspect when in fact it might be perfectly reasonable.  In some sense there is an "optical" component to it, but in fact it can make the difference between an accepted argument and one that is challenged.As a result, we highly prize quality writing and use a firm style guide to help us in our written and oral communications.  Too many times, incoming staff have not really learned to write well in the past, and we have to make an effort to pinpoint and talk them through their writing deficiencies in order to be able to turn out a worthy end product to the client at the end of the day.

4. Olga, a clinical pharmacist(and manager in her dept): • Medication Orders/Medication Errors • The clarity of written orders (in hospital settings) and prescriptions (in retail settings) is a leading source for medication errors.  In our profession, an order that is not properly written can lead to a medication overdose, medication under-dose, or use of the wrong medication entirely.  A lot of the time pharmacists devote to dispensing medications is spent clarifying and confirming vaguely written orders.  • Healthcare Projects • Any new business initiatives that we would like to implement (i.e. adding/building a new pharmacy, hiring additional personnel, establishing new services) must be communicated to key administrators and stakeholders in a clear manner.  Oftentimes, we communicate these needs via written business plans.  Healthcare is a business, and there is a lot of competition for the same resources within our system.  Your ability to effectively translate your new initiative will drive your allotment of resources in our field. • Human Resources/Evaluations • As a manager, I also evaluate the productivity of 10 employees.  When conducting a performance appraisal, written communication is especially important.  Your written communication must be clear, specific, precise and convey your assessment of the employee's performance to date as well as what you expect from the employee in the future.  The clarity of your communication could mean the difference between a satisfied employee who understands what is expected of them and a disgruntled one .

5. What mistake-free writing says about you: • you pay attention to details • you work hard • you care • you’re educated • you can be trusted • you know what you’re talking about

6. But, ideas are important, too: • Writing is thinking on paper. • Employers want people who can think for themselves, read something and understand it, reason, evaluate, and come up with their own ideas. • And they want people who can communicate those ideas effectively and clearly.

7. So, what can you do? • Read more (good readers make good thinkers and good writers) • The more you read, the more ideas and styles you’ll be exposed to (and practice makes perfect) • Read slower and really think about what you read • Learn from your grammatical mistakes and try to improve with each paper you write

8. Lewis Thomas’ “Notes on Punctuation” A Discussion

9. Structure map of “Notes on Punctuation” p. 553 • This essay merges form and content to prove its point. What does that mean? • Look again at the first sentence of the piece. Do you believe it? Why or why not? • How many sentences are in the first paragraph? Why? • Thomas categorizes punctuation marks into two categories: stops and indicators of tone. What does he mean by this?