Closing thoughts: Grammar Graduation

In my first blog, I made note of two particular grammatical insecurities that I wanted to overcome this semester: correct use of the word “whom” and the ever-popular “dash” (hooray! I used a colon correctly!). While I can’t think of a direct application of the word, “whom” to this blog, I’d like to fabricate an example to test my usage of the word. “My sister, whom I love dearly, is a little crazy.” I think that this is the correct use of “whom” because “whom” is a direct object, and a substitute for the word “sister.” I think that developing, refining and retaining (parallelism in which I opted to omit the last comma) grammatical understanding is nothing short of a lifelong process.

But (I began a sentence with a “FANBOYS”), I feel that I have made more grammatical progress in this class than at any other point in my life as a student. After completing English 326 (AAAWWUBBIS-laden introductory clause), I feel generally more conscious about parts of speech and how they function, but I take pride in the newfound ability to pinpoint mistakes in grammar. Not only that, but I am able to explain why they are incorrect. At the beginning of the semester, this came as a struggle to me. I recently looked over some scraps I had cut out for my scrapbook, with notes of what I thought was wrong about each example. Now it was easy to see that not only did I not have a clear idea about what was grammatically incorrect about them, but some really had nothing incorrect about them at all. Now, I have a better perception of what is correct and what is not.

As to the issue of dashes, I have come to realize that prior to this class I was oblivious to the concept. I am guilty of erroneously lumping “dashes” into the same category as the more comfortable “hyphens.” Fortunately, my sudden awareness of the difference reflects some growth in the area, and while I am still not comfortable dashing away in everyday writing, I am more receptive to attempting to use them. I’ve realized that hyphens are used to connect two words, while dashes -- typically -- are used to create a pause or additional thought.

I have found other unexpected areas of improvement throughout the course of the class, as well. My writing style, previously limited and constrained into a comfort zone (adjectives out of order), has developed a wider array of evocative possibilities for sentence structure. Prior to taking English 326, a class which I had previously worried about (appositive), I had been less aware of ways to add extra flavor to my writing; brushstrokes like appositives and adjectives out of order are two techniques which I have used this semester to spruce up my writing. Sentence variety helps, too.

One of the most valuable, albeit simple components of grammar that I will take from this class is the importance of consistency. Although there are differing personal preferences regarding trends in grammar, such as the debate over whether a comma belongs before “and” in a list, I am entitled to use either of these options as long as I consistently use one or the other. To do otherwise would suggest a sense of grammatical uncertainty and a compromised writing standard. More than anything, as I continue to hone my capabilities in written language, I hope that I am able to continually grow in grammatical aptitude at a consistent rate. I feel like I now have the tools and drive necessary to demand even more of myself as a writer.

As a closing thought, now I have come to acknowledge that grammar is much more than that nice old lady, my mother’s mother (appositive), who is married to my grampar and sends me cookies in the mail from time to time.