Re: Definately and English teachers...

[Nancy Hayes <nancyh -at- PMAFIRE -dot- INEL -dot- GOV>]

In article <9505312212 -dot- AA18159 -at- maui>,
Karyl Severson  <karyl -at- plaza -dot- ds -dot- adp -dot- com> wrote:
>I can diagram a sentence too.  But I'm damned if grammar and spelling
>are the fundamentals of good communication.  They are the icing on

I've got to disagree with you here--at least on the grammar.  They are
the fundamentals (or rather foundation) of good communication, not the
"icing on the cake" so much as the flour in the cake.  You aren't
interested in the flour when you eat the cake except in two cases:  too
much (or too little) flour ruins the recipe.

Grammar for the sake of grammar can get in the way of good communication;
not enough attention to grammar can negate what you're trying to
communicate.  Granted, someone who is good at grammar isn't necessarily a
good writer:  writing involves so much more than knowing where to place
the commas and semi-colons.  But, even the best ideas bog down if they're
buried in unclear, inaccurately structured prose.

And, I suppose part of the reason I feel that both grammar and spelling
are important, is that they (again like the icing) =finish= the product.

<soapbox mode off>

Welcome to the group, Karyl.  You just pushed one of my buttons as a
technical editor.  Actually, the three best classes I had for teaching
me to write were a 9th grade grammar class, a beginning creative
writing class, and working as an editorial intern.

Nancy (nancyh -at- pmafire -dot- inel -dot- gov)