There Are Mistakes in Their Writing and They're Ashamed!

Alright, we are back to English! Another basic that I do not feel is prioritized enough is the art of writing. Since I have already discussed spelling in a previous post, this time I will be focusing more on grammar and writing issues that are not being instilled in elementary schools.

From my personal experiences with either tutoring, or with my elementary school experience, I can say that it seems as though English grammar lessons are almost non-existent. I have noticed with many younger students (as well as students our age) that some grammar rules are still not understood. According to Azadeh Aalai, a professor in psychology at The George Washington University, writing, spelling and grammar have declined in the past five years. (1) She explained that her students are handing in written papers with “poor sentence structure” (1) and grammar. In my opinion, this “poor sentence structure” and grammar are the results of it not being prioritized by teachers in elementary schools.

Commas can save lives!

I find that still today, some students do not know how to use proper punctuation. Not being taught punctuation can lead to a series of other writing issues as well. For example, not knowing when to use a comma can cause students to be making run-on sentences. Not knowing where and when to use a period can cause students to not use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence. I believe that these writing rules should be one of the top priorities throughout elementary school. The only way to learn them is to keep practicing and unfortunately, some students are not being given that opportunity.

The proper way to use there, their
and they're. 

Another common grammar mistake that even students our age are still making is confusing homophones. From the time I was in the fourth grade, I remember being taught that there were words that sounded the same, but were spelled differently. Nothing is more aggravating to me than when someone uses the wrong its (it’s), there (their, they’re) or your (you’re) when they are writing. I think that teachers should be putting more emphasis on these homophones so that students can learn them and use them properly at an early age.

It’s obvious that students’ writing habits have changed over the years. In my opinion, learning how to write properly does not seem to be as important in schools as it used to be. Knowing the proper English grammar rules and being able to write are simple skills that are important to have for everyday life. With the decline in teaching writing in elementary schools, I’m interested to see how it will affect all of us in the near future.

(1) http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-first-impression/201402/why-can-t-college-students-write-anymore