It's All in the Style

This week I feel like I have learned something very important about grammar. Just a few weeks ago, I thought that there was only one way to do things when it came to grammar and punctuation, and there was no way around that either. My teachers taught me that it is one way and anybody else who tells you otherwise is just wrong. Now, I’m beginning to think that maybe they were a little wrong. Yes, there are rules that must be followed and certain ways to do things, but what I’ve learned in this last week is house style.
When I first heard of house style I was really confused. I did not think that it was possible for different publications to have different publication styles when it came to grammar. After all, there is only one way to do things, I thought. But what I found out is that each publication has sort of adopted their own style and made it their own. They still follow the rules, but they also make their own rules. Their style is unique, just as their publication is unique.
I honestly didnt expect to see a big difference in grammar and punctuation from publication to publication, but I did see a big difference, and I was amazed by it! I guess what this all boils down to is that I have learned that there is more than one way to do something when it comes to grammar and punctuation, and it is okay to break the rules sometimes. I have also learned that it is okay for different publications to have different styles, although I did not think it was okay. I thought it all had to be the same and they all had to follow the same rules, but they really do not.

Question:
I couldn't think of a question for this post, so I decided to put a purposeful error in part of this blog. Find it and identify it in a comment. (Hint: It is towards the end).

The Significance of the Placement

I think the biggest thing I have learned about grammar and punctuation in just the last two weeks is that I don’t very much about them. While I would like to think that I do, I don’t. That is not to say that I don’t know my grammar and punctuation though. I know the fundamentals, but I don’t know what is behind those fundamentals. I know that I could tell you that the apostrophe goes there, or that the comma goes here, but if I am asked to explain why, I can’t. I can look back and say that I know my teachers didn’t teach the stuff that is behind the fundamentals, but rather said the apostrophe goes here and the comma goes there just because they do. I wish my teachers could have taken the time to teach all the stuff behind the fundamentals, because I know I would feel a lot better about my grammar and punctuation right now if they had.
The other day I was really thinking about what I’ve already learned in this course and I thought of the first activities that we did in our course books. What I thought about here is how much of a difference a comma can really make. The placement of a comma is so important for the meaning, and I didn’t realize it before. The example that really stands out to me here is this one:
A woman without her man is nothing.
There were many different ways that this one simple sentence could have been punctuated and each way would have changed the meaning of the sentence. Here are two ways I did it:
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Obviously, with this way, I was saying that man is nothing without a woman. The meaning was significantly changed the second way I punctuated the sentence:
A woman, without her man, is nothing.
This time, I was saying that a woman is nothing without her man.
The two meanings here are completely different, even though the two sentences have exactly the same meaning. Another example of this is the Dear John letters that we did. I was amazed with how simple punctuation could change the meaning so much from a love letter to a break up letter. When I first looked at the letters, I said there was no way that the love letter could be transformed into a break up letter, but, as we saw, there were multiple ways!
Before entering the course two weeks ago, I really wouldn’t have guessed the significance of proper grammar and punctuation, but I have already discovered that it is crucial and really can change the meaning of what you are trying to say simply by placing a comma here or there.
Question:
For my question, I’m not really sure if anyone would know it, but I forgot to ask it in class the other day. I was wondering how the change from the “old” way to the “new” way for apostrophes came about. From what I understand, it was relatively recent that the change came about, but how was it decided that the change was needed. For an example, how did we go from using Chris’s to Chris’? Right now, both ways are right, but in the near future Chris’ will be the proper way to show a possessive form of an apostrophe. So, how did this change come about?

Comma here, comma there, comma over there, commas everywhere!

I think, as a writer, I have a few grammatical issues that I definitely need to be working on this semester. In high school, I was a part of my school’s newspaper and I was told to use a comma just about everywhere. Comma here, comma there, comma over there, commas everywhere! Before working for the newspaper, I used commas only where they seemed appropriate. But once I was forced to begin using them everywhere essentially, I fell into the habit and it really started to hurt my academic writing. I remember my first college English class from when I was still a junior in high school. I had been working for the school newspaper for a little more than a year and I was really excited for my college English class. My style of writing for the newspaper had become my everyday style of writing, and it hurt me. I wrote my first college essay with my newspaper style without even realizing it. I got the paper back and had done horribly. I went to speak with my professor and she said “your essay was good and was written well, but it wasn’t written correctly.” I asked her what she meant and she told me that my grammar and mechanics were really off. From there, I was careful to use commas less, but I am still, three and a half years later, stuck in the habit of being “comma happy.” I noticed it more and more just last semester when I started offering to edit papers of the people I live with. They all knew I was an English major and they just wanted someone who “knew their stuff” to edit their papers. I would be editing their papers and I would tell them “oh, you need a comma here and here and over there.” They would tell me that it wouldn’t make sense and they didn’t understand why they needed a comma there. I couldn’t explain to them either, other than with “well, you just do,” or “it makes the sentence flow better.” One way I have worked with this already is to just go ahead and write my papers as I normally would. Once I finish, I go back and check all my comma placements and what not. Most of the time, this has definitely cut down my comma use and helped me to notice more and more when I am sneaking in those extra commas. So, what that all boils down to is that, this semester, I would like to be able to cut down on the use of my commas to the places where they only really need to be. I don’t want to be using my commas where they don’t necessarily need to be.

I know I have other grammar and mechanical issues that I need to be working on as well. I think another one of them would be not necessarily my organization in my papers, but rather than explanations that go along with the organization in my papers. That probably doesn’t make any sense right now and may not even make sense by the time I am done explaining. I have noticed that I tend to get nervous in my writing and I am having trouble fully conveying my thoughts and my ideas on paper the way I want them to be conveyed. To me, they make sense. But, to someone else, they may not and that is hurting my writing as well. My papers are organized, but at the same time, I am having trouble clearly conveying my ideas in a clear and concise manner. When I have this trouble, it really makes my papers look sloppy and unorganized. I think this would fall under some of my mechanics that I need to work on.

As of right now, I can’t think of anything else that I need to be working on, although I know that there are other issues with my grammar and mechanics that could use a makeover!