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If you don't know the rules for Grammar, you're not "sentenced" to writing
badly... it's been ages since I taught English, and I've forgotten more
about grammar (rules) than I care to admit. However, I still can crank out
grammatically-correct text. One theory says that grammar is hard-wired into
our brains as an essential part of learning language, and if you learned it
once, it stays with you.
This doesn't explain the "engineers who can't write" phenomena; we all know
people who speak eloquently but can't write a sentence. I call this
"learned helplessness" since (barring catastrophic brain injury) anyone who
speaks well probably knows all the grammar they *need*, and can learn to
write well once they overcome their fear/loathing.
Though I've had some success in getting such folks to write clearly, I
generally leave them alone, since they employ me ;-)
Best regards,
Jim.
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James G. McAward
Manager, Technical Publications
Chyron Corporation Melville, NY
www.chyron.com
"Happy is the heart of him who writes; he is young each day."
-----Ptahhotep, Vizier to Isesi, Fifth Egyptian Dynasty, 2300 BC
