{"id":69,"date":"2023-12-19T22:55:14","date_gmt":"2023-12-19T22:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/writingfordigitalmedia\/?post_type=chapter&p=69"},"modified":"2024-02-07T00:26:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:26:55","slug":"editing-your-work","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/writingfordigitalmedia\/chapter\/editing-your-work\/","title":{"raw":"Editing Your Work","rendered":"Editing Your Work"},"content":{"raw":"

A lot of people bemoan what they perceive to be a disregard for basic grammar and punctuation rules as different forms of digital writing have emerged. For instance, research by the Pew Research Center<\/span><\/a><\/span> found that the majority of AP (Advanced Placement) and NWP (National Writing Project) teachers have mixed feelings about digital media, feeling that on one hand, it promotes more opportunities for different types of writing and collaboration and a deeper awareness of audience and other rhetorical considerations (Purcell et al.). However, they also feel that the shift to reading and writing informal texts have \u201cdiminished\u201d students\u2019 ability to attend to the more precise aspects of their writing\u2014word choice, grammar, punctuation. In a survey of AP and NWP teachers, 68% expressed concern that digital tools make it more likely that students will \u201ctake shortcuts and not put effort into their writing.\u201d Respondents also noted concerns about \u201cspelling and grammar\u201d and writing that is \u201ctoo fast\u201d and \u201ccareless\u201d (Purcell et al.).<\/p>\r\n

Perhaps text messaging is one of the best examples. With the affordances of text messages, we can easily stay in touch with people all day long, quickly reading short messages and responding in kind as time allows. This is an incredibly informal form of writing. It\u2019s not unusual to see a text message with no punctuation or capitalization at all. Instead it\u2019s filled with SMS language (abbreviations), slang, emojis, and GIFs\u2014all of which convey meaning and can go a long way to advance conversations, provide entertainment, and forge social connections. Text messaging and social media posts have significantly expanded the types of and the amount of writing that people do each day, which is a major benefit. However, the concern is that when tasked with a more formal type of writing\u2014an academic essay, an email to a colleague or supervisor, or even a blog post or white paper\u2014people will approach them in the same way, with little attention to prewriting, organization, or proofreading for accuracy and clarity.<\/p>\r\n

The reality is that concerns about students\u2019 ability to write \u201ccorrectly\u201d (i.e., according to grammar and punctuation rules for Standard American English) and the debate about which writing skills merit the most attention go back a long way. As early as 1874, Harvard added a writing component to its already rigorous entrance exam for potential applicants, and more than <\/span>half of students<\/span><\/a><\/span> taking the exam that year failed and were therefore required to take remedial writing courses before they were considered ready for college-level writing (Haswell). Grammar and punctuation drills were normal in English classes throughout the beginning of the twentieth century, and even still, in 1974, a Newsweek<\/em><\/span> article titled \u201cWhy Johnny Can\u2019t Write<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u201d decried the \u201cappalling\u201d literacy statistics and the growing number of surface-level errors that undermined basic writing proficiency. The article begins like this: \u201cIf your children are attending college, chances are that when they graduate, they will be unable to write ordinary, expository English with any real degree of structure and lucidity\u201d (Sheils). It goes on to discuss the connection between low reading levels (as predicted by Marshall McLuhan with the growth of television culture) and poor writing skills and the deficit of professionals and \u201ccivil servants\u201d who can write effectively (Sheils). Since then, more writing teachers have focused on other aspects of writing\u2014depth of content and the underlying ideas and insights, rhetorical considerations, and writing processes that help students think about their writing in stages.<\/p>\r\n

Certainly, there is much more to effective writing than correct grammar and punctuation. It has to catch readers\u2019 attention, offer insights that help readers think about a topic in new ways, demonstrate logical thinking, and in some cases, spark an emotional response that prompts readers to take action. However, as this chapter will discuss, correctness matters too, adding clarity and credibility to your writing. While there are far too many grammar and punctuation rules to cover in one chapter, we\u2019ll cover some of the most fundamental, paying particular attention to common mistakes. We\u2019ll also discuss strategies for concise writing, which is especially important in digital writing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

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