This is probably going to sound like a bitchy, condescending post, but hear me out. I'm just trying to help.
I've been trying reading a lot of blogs on here, and the vast majority of them, I ending up having to skip over because they are un-readable for one or more of the following reasons:
*Zero capitalization
*Poor or nonexistent punctuation
*No paragraph structure
*Poor sentence structure
*Poor vocabulary (confusing homophones, using words that don't exist, et cetera)
*Blog typed entirely in bold, capital letters, or other such nonsense
What follows are some tips to help you with your writing, so that people can get to the idea of your post. Because no matter how good your ideas are, if people can't understand what it is you are attempting to convey they're not going to read your blog, your essay, your letters; or listen to you speak. Most of you should already know these things, and when you are writing something for someone else to read, it is imperative you use the conventional rules of the English language (that is, unless you're a Modernist writer like Faulkner or e.e. cummings).
1. Capitalization
Most of us have learned this from the age of 5 to the age of 16 in school. The first letter of a sentence is capitalized. The first letter of a proper noun is capitalized (for example, the name of a person or place; "Rachel from Seattle"). Personal pronouns like "I" should also be capitalized, unless you are suffering from low self-esteem, in which case you should speak only of yourself in the third person to avoid stray lower-case "i"s.
2. Punctuation
There are several punctuation marks that are meant to convey pauses in speech, a quote, or to note a contraction. Your several punctuation marks are:
. (the period which goes at the end of a sentence)
, (the comma, which notes a pause in a thought, but not the end of it)
; (the semi-colon which is intended to note a more significant pause in a thought; to separate two different ideas in the same thought)
: (the colon: this mark tells your reader you are about to list a few ideas; items in lists do not need to conform to general sentence and punctuation rules -- hence the missing capitalization and periods in this punctuation list)
( ) (parentheses, which note an explanation of a thought, without disrupting the overall idea)
-- (the dash -- my personal favorite -- which notes a tangential thought in an idea)
- (the hyphen goes between two words of which you wish to make a single word)
/ (the slash may be used in conjunction with and/or instead of the hyphen)
"quotes" (quotation marks let your reader know that you are quoting another source, or that the thought you are presenting within the quotes is not necessarily part of the point you are trying to make)
' (the apostrophe is the most misused punctuation mark; it is used to denote possessives and contractions. It is NOT meant to denote plurals. That's what the letter "s" at the end of a word is for, generally)
! (exclamation points are over-used; it is really only necessary to use one exclamation point at a time, though as far as I'm concerned up to three are acceptable)
? (the question mark goes at the end of a question. Right? When used in conjunction with the exclamation point, the question mark goes first. "The question mark goes first?!" You are asking a question that you are surprised you have to ask)
& (the ampersand is entirely unnecessary because you can just type the word "and")
[brackets] (brackets are used in quotes to enclose text that isn't literally accurate [they also can note tangential thoughts, especially those inside parentheses])
Possessive verses plural
When noting a plural possessive (except in the case when the plural and singular are the same "moose" for example), the apostrophe goes after the "s". "Those are the Girl Scouts' cookies." When you are noting a singular possessive, the apostrophe goes before the "s". "Those are a Girl Scout's cookies." In order to tell the difference, use your verbs. Verbs come in singular and plural too -- you want your nouns and your verbs to be in agreement.
3. Paragraph Structure
Your entire blog post should not be one very, very long paragraph. No one will read it. Your paragraphs should have one over-arching thought per paragraph, and separate paragraphs will tell the reader "this idea is related, but deserves separate consideration".
See what I mean?
4. Sentence Structure
You need a noun and a verb in each of your sentences. That's just rudimentary writing, and I'm sure you all know it. Try to write the way you would speak to a congressman.
5. Improving Your Vocabulary
You don't have to use big words, but you do have to use words you understand. Further more, there are a few words that sound the same, but are completely different. "There" "their" and "they're" for example. "There" is a place "over there"; "their" is plural possessive "that is their box of cookies"; "they're" is a contraction of "they" and "are". If you're not sure which is which, don't be afraid to look it up.
The most important thing about words is, if you're not sure about a word: look it up. Onelook.com is a good resource for words.
6. Formatting
Formats like "bold" or "italic" are there to be used for emphasis (as is typing in all capitals). When you use emphasis on a particular word, people pay more attention to that word. It brings that idea to the top of your readers' thinking. Therefore, it is NOT appropriate to bold, italicize, or capitalize your entire post. If you want your post, your ideas, to be seen as important, you should think carefully how you wish to word what you are trying to convey. Your thoughts, when conveyed properly, will not need any help from bold, italics, or all capital letters.
Now, I'm sure you all think that I am thoroughly pretentious, and that's just fine. But for those of you who actually follow the rules of writing in the English language, more people will be able and willing to read your posts.
Affectionately,
Rachel
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