|
Does anybody besides English teachers care about grammar and punctuation?
According to Maxine Hairston's research,
employers notice these common errors:
- I seen him come in.
- My grammar is fine, I
don't need any review.
- Although other people might.
Judge for Yourself
Employers judge people who make these
errors to have poor communication skills. Which of
these applicants would you hire?
|
| Cover Letter 1 |
Cover Letter 2
|
Dear Joe,
I saw. Your ad in the payper. I got all the credenshuls
your gonna need. Including eggsellent communication skills.
If you higher me you wont be sorry. I have a strong work
ethnic, and did i mention my great communicashun skills. |
Dear Mr. Green,
You advertised for a Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician
with excellent communication skills. I hope you will consider me a
strong candidate for the position. In addition to Microsoft certification,
I have a strong work ethic and the ability to express myself clearly
in speech and writing. |
Numerous errors
in Letter 1 make readers work too hard to get the message. In addition,
basic errors in spelling and grammar can make writers appear lazy
or uneducated.
|
How are your written communication skills? To find out, you can
- take a self-test
- browse the list of topics to review
- go directly to practice
exercises based on the St. Martin's
Guide to College Writing, 6th ed.
(Skim the list or choose an exercise that matches an error code
marked by your instructor. Note: You can enter the site without
entering an instructor's email address.)
If you find yourself becoming discouraged or overwhelmed, check
out Tina Blue's Is There
an Easy Way to Overcome My Own Grammar and Usage Problems? As
Blue points out, most people make only a few kinds of mistakes.
When those mistakes are repeated, a paper can seem riddled with
errors. The trick is to identify the mistakes you tend to make
and learn to correct them.
|
Self-Test 