Last month Aaron, a neighbor, asked me for help submitting a graduate school application. His cover letter needed fine tuning. I miss using all that knowledge I've acquired--like a lot of old people--so I loved helping him.I told him not to feel foolish. Few people remember everything they learned in writing class because they have little reason to think about it. They'd be weird if they did think about it a lot. But when you need it, you need it.
Language is fluid and changes all the time. The current big hitter is social media. For example, texting requires only half the alphabet, and those patterns have made their way into formal writing, IMHO. Cryptic messages are the norm as social media writers "omit needless words." I don't mind the current trends, but some things haven't changed.
A few reminders:
- Seasons of the year are not capitalized. Write "spring," not "Spring."
- Write "sons-in-law," not "son-in-laws."
- Begin sentences with words, not numerals. Write "Two days ago" not "2 days ago."
- For numbers under 10, write the words out; some people say under 20 so it's optional. Write "Brucie is seven" not "Brucie is 7."
- Avoid split infinitives. Infinitives: "to work" or "to think" or "to laugh." Write "Max began to laugh joyfully," not "Max began to joyfully laugh." In the last example, "joyfully" splits the infinitive. (Image from tcu.edu)
