There is something I’ve realized while taking a class on grammar, style, and syntax, which is that our current curriculum focuses only on writing, but not on writing well. See, there is a distinct difference between the two. A majority of college student will either write like a first grader, or write academically, thinking our writing needs to be toward our professor, but not realizing our writing is meant for our peers.
Here’s an example: “So, today I went to the mall and bought a dress on sale.” This is an example of first-grade writing. All the writer does is connect two main ideas with "and."
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Meanwhile, the academic writer may write something along the lines of: “Consequently, the dress I bought on sale happened to have a hole in it due to the alarm tags the store places on the clothing.” Was there a need to use words such as "consequently," "happened to" and "due to" when you could use simple words like "however," "had" and "because?"
Our current curriculum does not teach students how to properly master grammar and the English language. Many may think there’s no need to properly teach students grammar, but writing well is necessary for any field a student chooses to follow. In high school, it’s perfectly OK to string words along—as long the words sound fancy and answer the question slightly, then teachers will still pass you and give you a decent grade.
I’m not going to say all teachers shrug off the importance of grammar, but a majority of teachers now don’t care. Why? Well, if you had 20 papers to read and each one was anywhere between five to seven pages, would you want to read all of those papers? Especially if they all sound almost the same? By the fifth paper, you would start to skim them to see if they answered the prompt, and if they did, you’d give them a decent grade. Those rubrics they give you? It’s also to remind them how they should properly grade you.
In college, stringing words together doesn’t always work. Sometimes you may be able to get away with it, but professors will notice you’re just stringing words together and rambling; they will catch on and realize you have no idea how to write well. As a junior in college, I am beginning to realize the importance of writing well and mastering grammar. It’s impossible to always fool the reader into thinking you can write well. The job of a writer is to put your opinions and thoughts in order for the reader. If you’re not writing well, not transitioning well and not ordering your thoughts coherently, then as a writer, you are not doing your job.
A majority of us go to college thinking the way we write doesn’t matter—as long as we answer the prompt and hit that word count, then we’re good, right? Wrong. The way we write does matter in college and will matter in whatever profession you decide to enter.
So stop using "I think" to express your thoughts in a paper; the reader knows that’s what you think because it’s your paper. Take some time to proofread your papers and make sure you’re using the proper "there," "their" and "they’re" and "your," and "you’re." Writing is a skill that can always be improved; it just takes some time and willingness to get better.
