Week One Post

What grammatical and mechanical issues do you, as a writer, need to focus on this semester?

My name is Byron, and I’m a grammar-phobe. It’s always embarrassed me that I’m an English major, and yet, I don’t have a full mastery of basic English grammar rules.

As a writer, the mechanical issues I struggle with, when it comes to grammar, are writing passive sentences. Journalism majors take a class called Com 295, where the main point of the class seems to be Don’t Write Passively! While I still write passive sentences, I’m at least cognizant of this fact. When the professor first explained the concept of Subject-Verb-Object sentences, and that anything else would be simply bad grammar, I was incredulous. How had I gone to college and never heard of this rule? And that’s when it hit me: I didn’t know anything about grammar.

I was real sheepish for about a couple weeks, until I realized that nobody else in Com 295 knew anything about grammar, either. Then, I just accepted the fact that so long as I could get through this course, everything would be alright, and that summer, I would purchase a grammar textbook to help me understand grammar. I eventually did pass the class, in epic fashion, earning a 2.0, the minimum grade needed to pass the class. But I never did purchase that grammar textbook.

Besides writing passive sentences, another mechanical issue I have when dealing with grammar is subject-verb agreement. It’s a basic rule, but easy to forget about. This summer, I wrote for the Seattlepi.com. In writing a game story about the Seattle Storm, I previewed their upcoming match-up with LA, saying that “the Storm play again Sunday.” However, what I should have said was that the Storm (singular entity) plays again Sunday. My editor called me into his office, and gave me a quick explanation of the rule, and I’ve never made this error since.

If you’re curious about the article I’m talking about, you can read it here:
http://www.seattlepi.com/wnba/407659_storm27.html

I also know I’ve misused effect and affect. But hopefully it hasn’t negatively affected my writing. Besides that, I really can’t think of too many other issues I have with grammar. That’s part of the reason I’m taking this class: I know there are many more issues I have with grammar, but I’m not sure what they are.