
For the reader, poor formatting, punctuation, and grammar are stoppers. Masters' theses and doctoral dissertations must have proper grammar, punctuation, and precise formatting, or they will be rejected. In turn, students have to be able to interpret that information, formulate their own ideas, and write about it in a manner that is not only proper but holds the reader's interest. In scholastic circles professors have to express themselves clearly to pass on lessons to their students. Yet the need to write in the appropriate format, spelling and grammar correct, punctuation in the right place, are still an imperative.
CLEAN TEXT HOW TO
At a local elementary school I was appalled to discover children were learning how to interpret IMs and write their own in place of lessons on how to properly construct a sentence or paragraph. In our contemporary culture of instant messaging with limited space, abbreviations and an utter lack of punctuation and even proper spelling has taken over. We rely heavily on our word processing programs to correct us because of the importance of being accurate, especially if they are words we are putting out into the world with our name on it. Yet what was done with typewriters is still done today - writing, creating conceptually new information, leaving a little piece of history, putting forth ideas to see where they take us. Being able to write on a computer has become part of our educational system from kinder on up. They've become tools of the past, replaced by dedicated word processing equipment, then personal computers.
CLEAN TEXT MANUAL
After all, a blank space takes up just as much room as a letter, so let's fill it up.Īre you old enough to have learned how to type on a manual or electric typewriter? Probably not. APA, MLA, and other research formats no longer require it, accepting the more commonly used single space that has taken over vernacular writing and publishing. The steadfast rule of two spaces after a period is rapidly disappearing. A good text replacement tool is essential to A-student, proofreader, and writer.įormatting has changed in recent years.A good text: replacement tool is essential to a student, proofreader, and writer.How punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence is seen in a non-classic pairing, Punctuation replaces vocal inflection and body language of speech when we translate it to the page. Consider the old standby, "Let's eat, Grandma!" without the comma. Ah, the lowly comma, so abused, so misunderstood, yet a critical component to our language. A misplaced or missing comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence.

While rules regarding grammar, punctuation, and proper sentence structure have changed somewhat over the years, they still matter tremendously. The capacity to express oneself well in writing is a critically important skill used throughout life in myriad circumstances. Remove Publication / Reference Years from Text
