"Northern Ireland has some of the best primary school students in the world in mathematics, according to major international tests. According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Northern Irish students ranked seventh among 64 countries and regions." https://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/the-english-schooling-system-a-comparison-with-wales-and-northern-ireland/#:~:text=Northern Ireland Education System Best,according to major international tests.
When I was in college, there were two types of grammarians--prescriptive and descriptive. That made me question the idea of proper grammar and the proper way of speaking and writing. The understanding I came to was not so much what's proper, but what people understand. I also came to realize that language is always changing and what used to be proper becomes clunky and archaic. Who still speaks that old Elizabethan style, and why did the common vernacular of those horrid commoners replace it? Why can we not read or understand Old English? The times always be changing. As far as the common errors of grammar and spelling, I do believe it's, in part, because we're more focused on fast and snarky replies. We're not writing novels or anything academic, so it seems to boil down to hammering out quickies and hoping for cheers. I also think what plays a role is the fact that we really don't like those long, intellectual replies. How many of those get tagged with a TLDR? As far as any skills, I do think it boils down to the environment. If it's expected, if it's used, we're more likely to do the same.
My criteria for good writing include clarity, simplicity, and focus. "Call me Ishmael." Right away, you want to know more.
Proofreading. I don't always proofread my posts, but I'm certain yall can tell when I do and when I dont.
I'm not going to count myself among them, but I agree that the general quality of writing here is pretty good, at least compared to places like Reddit. I think the reason has to do with the average age of the posters here. Most of them are seem to be on the older side; a good many of them are retired. So people have had entire careers doing presentations and writing for business. It helps.
One of the best phrases that anyone has written is "A picture is worth a thousand words." If a person has a good command of words, they can craft them in as few of words as necessary, communicating a concept just as much as the person that thinks they need a thousand words to convey the same concept. The thoughts of the latter can be lost, mired in way too many words, losing the attention of the reader. Word walls can be an impediment to communication, and isn't communication - conveying understanding - what we seek?
The biggest problems I see with communicators today are: I totally agree. Some key points: - Avoid "lingo". Different specialists use their own words. Avoid words that cannot be understood by everyone listening. That includes kidspeak like "baiting", "gaslighting", and such. Use universal English. - Keep it short. When I was in the military, there was an unwritten rule to limit your PowerPoint presentations to 10-12 slides. Folks are busy and will lose interest with more. Be short and concise. If the listener wants to know more they can ask.
Indeed it is. Reminds me of two writers on opposite sides of that idea. Ernest Hemingway wrote in a short, simple and basic style. Thomas Wolfe used long and at times, a rambling style. I like both. Hemingway got to the point and told his story. Now, which one is Wolfe and which one is Hemingway? “My dear, dear girl [. . .] we can't turn back the days that have gone. We can't turn life back to the hours when our lungs were sound, our blood hot, our bodies young. We are a flash of fire--a brain, a heart, a spirit. And we are three-cents-worth of lime and iron--which we cannot get back.” "The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. "
"But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. " HIMARS does the same thing.
Punctuation is very important, it can actually be a matter of life and death. Let's eat grandma. Let's eat, grandma. See the difference?
Yea, that simple little comma can make all the difference in interpretation. The translators of the Greek texts of the Bible were somewhat haphazard when it came to adding punctuation where none existed.
Additionally: "Northern Ireland emerged as Europe's top performing education system for primary maths, according to global school rankings. We are also the highest ranking English-speaking country in primary reading — beating England, Ireland and Canada." Northern Ireland primary schools on top of world... so what goes wrong when pupils move up to secondary level? | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk