* Individual, non-professional writers do not qualify for The Grammar Wall of Shame. However, if you recognize yourself in any of these examples, take heed! "A wise man will hear and increase learning." (Proverbs 1:3)
* Sometimes a writer may choose to use improper grammar as a stylistic device (i.e. for humor, for emphasis). This stylistic choice does not count for our purposes. We will do our best to give you the benefit of the doubt.
* There is no personal animus involved against any of the writers who appear on The Grammar Wall of Shame. This blog was created purely because we criticize writing for a living, and it can be very difficult to turn off the editing impulse. It's like defragging our hard drives at the end of the day - it helps to clear out the brain.
* We are not out actively searching for these items (at least not at this stage). The items that appear here are ones we run across in our online/real world peregrinations.
* There are many sports writers we love. Having said that...sports news websites have a much higher volume of grammatical errors than your typical news website. You may see a disproportionate number of examples from sports websites. There, we said it.
We exist because the world of professional writing/editing, particularly the online world, is either shamefully understaffed or worse, underqualified. We do not exist to snark on the grammar of amateur individuals. However, if you get paid to write or revise writing for a living, you're fair game. Let the hunting begin!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment