Literacy
is traditionally treated as the degree of
writing and reading skills in one's native language. Undoubtedly, to be
successful, one should write correctly and according to the established rules
of grammar and spelling.
Without exaggeration, today's community of readers and
writers can be divided into grammar nazi (professionals who require strict
observance of the rules of grammar and are ready to make the death sentence to any
text in which they managed to find at least one mistake) and people who treat
literacy without too much piety. The latter reasonably
claim that the main thing is content, and the language is not a frozen set of
rules but rather a living organism that develops and constantly changes.
So
should we strictly follow the rules of grammar? It is permissible to make mistakes
in original, informative, creative texts? Finally, how
to boost writing skills?
#1 Write without Stops
Everything starts with the idea, and you should try
to disclose the idea on the paper until it goes away! That’s why one of the
best ways to write creatively is to write without stops and paying attention to
the grammar. The fact is that often excessive concentration on grammatical
rules prevents creative writing. Who will care about
the grammar if the material brings nothing new?
The
content is king! Practice the so-called free writing. Express your thoughts without
correcting typos and mistakes. Don’t think about punctuation and sentence
structure. However, this does not mean
that you can forget about grammar at all. The written text is not the final product
– it's just a draft that you will edit in future.
Do
not pay attention to grammar in the process of writing – do it only after you
finish the text!
#2 Don’t Treat Literacy a Favor to Linguists
Why, in the end, is it important to write
competently? Let's start with the fact that the language rules are not
arbitrary regulations of linguists but were established
during the historical development of the language, and their role is to unify
the ways of writing so that we can understand each other's texts. If there were no unified set of grammar, written
communication would not be possible.
Therefore,
you shouldn’t consider the adherence to the grammar rules as a favor that you
do to linguists. It’s all about the mindset. Adjust it to the right waves, and
you’ll be able to grow faster!

#3 Respect Your Readers
What does an average reader
think when stumbling on mistakes?
·
Firstly, that the
author did not even bother to re-read his work. The author
showed no respect, so why continue reading?
·
Secondly, our perception is arranged in such a way that we sometimes
ignore horrible mistakes that we do, but notice the slightest inconsistency in
someone else's text. This means that many
readers become grammar nazis even without noticing
it. If the author has not managed to master the school grammar, why take
his text seriously? Most likely, he has problems with logic,
the ability to structure his thoughts, the depth of working out the material,
etc.
Although
these two treatments are not always true, most likely, you will lose a
significant part of the audience if you make mistakes. The medium is the
message, and the form is inseparable from the content. Sometimes mistakes
change the meaning of the text.
Reread
your text after writing. Most errors are the result of inattention. If you’re completely
absorbed by formulating your thoughts, you can no longer follow the arrangement
of commas. A simple check will help you to
correct most typos and mistakes.
#4 Use Spell Checkers
Technologies
changed the writing world,
no doubts. However, automatic checkers are far from ideal. Text editors ignore many
words and can’t properly understand the syntax, but they help you to correct
some gross errors and point out fragments that require increased attention.
If you are annoyed by the constant underscoring of words and
sentences with colorful lines, you can disable the built-in
check during the writing process and turn it on during text editing.
#5 Make Tables and Schemes
Tables and schemes are an ideal way to structure and
remember complex materials. For example,
you can create a table for placing punctuation marks in complex sentences. To
do this, you’ll have to comprehend the topic, which means you’ll be able to organize
the material in the most convenient way.
Keep
the tables on the desktop and refer to them if you doubt about this or that
rule.
#6 Read Books, Especially Classic
When you read, you train visual memory. Classic
books seem to be more reliable as most modern publications are written at the furious rhythm of today's
life and eternal haste, which increases the probability of mistakes. Choose
books according to your interests. Detective stories,
fiction, verses – it doesn’t matter – the point is to be completely obsessed
with what you read.
Tastes are different. The same is true for
abilities. One person has a well developed visual memory; the other is a strong audial, etc. Analyze where you make
mistakes and work on these areas. This is
the basic rule and the secret of your future success!
I
wish you best of luck in your writing endeavors!
Bio:
Lucy
Adams is a generalist who never refuses to disclose intriguing topics. Reach the
blogger at lucyadams@buzzessay.com
and share your brilliant ideas. Lucy’s guest posts are free so that you have
all chance to get one or a few interesting posts for your blog at no cost!
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