Read Online Writing well (for the rest of us): No Grammar. No Rules. Just Common Sense. by Alex Eckelberry - Free Book Online
Authors: Alex Eckelberry
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informal communications, skip the closing. Just write
your name.
Keep your signature simple. No pictures of your kids,
flowers, huge and unnecessary graphics and other clutter. Remember that
graphics often just become attachments, so use them carefully – if at all.
Of course, your LinkedIn information and typical business
contact info is totally fine and expected.
John Doe
Industrial Sales, Inc.
23 Doe Street
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-555-1212
email: [email protected]
www.industrialsalesinc.com
(Don’t use http:// in your website.)
The website www.businessemailetiquette.com has some
useful additional pointers.
And now, for the even more adventurous
I wrote this book because something has been nagging at me
for years: the often bad use of English online, in social media (Facebook,
etc.) and emails. So, I decided to write a simple book to help others.
People who make grammatical mistakes often have no idea why
they make mistakes, and may bristle at correction.
I’m not interested in “correcting” people. I’m interested in
helping people write better, so that they can become a more integral part of
the community.
This book was written to help the majority, and there is
much more that I could add (and might in subsequent editions). However, I’ve
purposely kept the text of this little book very simple. I’ve even put the
credits in the back, as opposed to footnoting throughout the text (very
distracting).
However, for the more adventurous, I’ve opened up a bit here
and discuss some of what I’ve written about in this text. I’m also breaking my
earlier rule of only talking at the level of a 15-year old.
Grammar I was fortunate, many years ago, to read a book called The New Grammar ,
by L. Ron Hubbard. This book is a little-known but fascinating discussion of
the subject of grammar, and includes a new and sensible grammar for the English language.
The book (and its companion, Small Common Words Defined ) also has all
sorts of additional tidbits that I drew upon in this book, such as the
re-inclusion of the article as a part of speech (lost in many grammars); the
Indo-European roots of the language; the fact that grammar describes what has
happened in language, as opposed to creating rules for what should be (the
“descriptive” vs. “prescriptive” approach); and the imitative development of
language (called “onomatopoeia”).
Much of my inspiration and general ideas about grammar I
credit from Hubbard’s work. While better known for founding a religion, his
studies on teaching, grammar and education have spawned a movement; and an
organization, Applied Scholastics , has been created to
promote his educational philosophy through a non-religious approach. I highly
recommend picking up a copy of The New Grammar for any unanswered questions.
It’s the best (and simplest) grammar book I’ve found.
Grammar Police My mention of Latin grammarians shoehorning English into Latin rules is not
just idle talk. The Oxford Words blog refers to this group as “Latin-obsessed
17th century introverts” [3] .
And, from the dreaded Wikipedia:
“The first English grammar, Pamphlet for Grammar by William Bullokar, written with the seeming
goal of demonstrating that English was quite as rule-bound as Latin, was published in 1586. Bullokar's grammar was faithfully modeled on William Lily's
Latin grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (1534). Lily's grammar was being
used in schools in England at that time, having been "prescribed" for
them in 1542 by Henry VIII. Although Bullokar wrote his grammar in English and
used a "reformed spelling system" of his own invention, many English
grammars, for much of the century after Bullokar's effort, were to be written
in Latin; this was especially so for books whose authors were aiming to be
scholarly. Christopher Cooper's Grammatica Linguæ Anglicanæ (1685) was
the last English grammar written in Latin.
The yoke of Latin grammar writing bore down
your name.
Keep your signature simple. No pictures of your kids,
flowers, huge and unnecessary graphics and other clutter. Remember that
graphics often just become attachments, so use them carefully – if at all.
Of course, your LinkedIn information and typical business
contact info is totally fine and expected.
John Doe
Industrial Sales, Inc.
23 Doe Street
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-555-1212
email: [email protected]
www.industrialsalesinc.com
(Don’t use http:// in your website.)
The website www.businessemailetiquette.com has some
useful additional pointers.
And now, for the even more adventurous
I wrote this book because something has been nagging at me
for years: the often bad use of English online, in social media (Facebook,
etc.) and emails. So, I decided to write a simple book to help others.
People who make grammatical mistakes often have no idea why
they make mistakes, and may bristle at correction.
I’m not interested in “correcting” people. I’m interested in
helping people write better, so that they can become a more integral part of
the community.
This book was written to help the majority, and there is
much more that I could add (and might in subsequent editions). However, I’ve
purposely kept the text of this little book very simple. I’ve even put the
credits in the back, as opposed to footnoting throughout the text (very
distracting).
However, for the more adventurous, I’ve opened up a bit here
and discuss some of what I’ve written about in this text. I’m also breaking my
earlier rule of only talking at the level of a 15-year old.
Grammar I was fortunate, many years ago, to read a book called The New Grammar ,
by L. Ron Hubbard. This book is a little-known but fascinating discussion of
the subject of grammar, and includes a new and sensible grammar for the English language.
The book (and its companion, Small Common Words Defined ) also has all
sorts of additional tidbits that I drew upon in this book, such as the
re-inclusion of the article as a part of speech (lost in many grammars); the
Indo-European roots of the language; the fact that grammar describes what has
happened in language, as opposed to creating rules for what should be (the
“descriptive” vs. “prescriptive” approach); and the imitative development of
language (called “onomatopoeia”).
Much of my inspiration and general ideas about grammar I
credit from Hubbard’s work. While better known for founding a religion, his
studies on teaching, grammar and education have spawned a movement; and an
organization, Applied Scholastics , has been created to
promote his educational philosophy through a non-religious approach. I highly
recommend picking up a copy of The New Grammar for any unanswered questions.
It’s the best (and simplest) grammar book I’ve found.
Grammar Police My mention of Latin grammarians shoehorning English into Latin rules is not
just idle talk. The Oxford Words blog refers to this group as “Latin-obsessed
17th century introverts” [3] .
And, from the dreaded Wikipedia:
“The first English grammar, Pamphlet for Grammar by William Bullokar, written with the seeming
goal of demonstrating that English was quite as rule-bound as Latin, was published in 1586. Bullokar's grammar was faithfully modeled on William Lily's
Latin grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (1534). Lily's grammar was being
used in schools in England at that time, having been "prescribed" for
them in 1542 by Henry VIII. Although Bullokar wrote his grammar in English and
used a "reformed spelling system" of his own invention, many English
grammars, for much of the century after Bullokar's effort, were to be written
in Latin; this was especially so for books whose authors were aiming to be
scholarly. Christopher Cooper's Grammatica Linguæ Anglicanæ (1685) was
the last English grammar written in Latin.
The yoke of Latin grammar writing bore down
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