Jane's Posts

Sep 14 1998 12:00 am

But what little imagination those term paper readers often had! They would downgrade you for starting a sentence with "But" or "And" and yet James Joyce and Shakespeare did it all the time. Likewise with ending a sentence with a preposition. Personally, I think all three of these case can spice up writing and often draw attention to a sentence without using some such crudity as underlining a word.

Sentence fragments, too.

In the early years, I think writers need to learn to master the conventions before they flout them. Unfortunately, those who correct term papers often can't tell if the writer is unaware of or rejecting "the rules."

I have great sympathy for the graders of those bone-crushingly boring term papers. Many high school teachers and college and graduate school professors are appalled by the technical quality of the writing they encounter. They believe they would do their students a disservice if they failed to point out "errors." Others believe that grammar is outside their purview. They grade on content, depth of analysis, orderly exposition of argument, etc. I understand both perspectives.

jane