Grammar Summary

I think it is obvious that grammar is important in all career areas. Our interview responses as an entire class clearly proved that grammar (including effective writing and speaking ability) is significant. Thus, "your writing represents you and whoever you may represent". In truth, I am not surprised by the responses of the interviews. Regardless of the field of interest, grammatically correct writing is relevant. Period.

Grammar Science

I interviewed a professor in the Forestry department because of her unique background with writing. During college, this professor spent much time writing short fiction as a diversion from her studies. Her perspective of how the role of grammar shifts according to the media being produced is thereby affected.

“When I wrote fiction,” she said, “I was allowed—maybe even expected—to use grammar to its limits in order to convey various meanings and emotions. When you write an article, though, the sentences you produce must be black and white in a grammatical sense. There can be no confusion in the grammar of each sentence because any confusion will directly affect the impact of the article.”

The lesson I take from speaking with Professor B is that grammatical skills are as important in an artistic form as they are in a scientific form—it’s as important to know the audience as it is to understand the skills.

Grammar Summary

After reading all of the class posts, it seems that everyone interviewed felt that grammar was a rather important skill to have in the job market after college. Effective communication is important whether it is through writing or speaking. A few people said that by demonstrating good grammar skills, you can gain more respect from your co-workers as well as anyone else whom you interact with from day to day. For example if you are a doctor, demonstrating good grammar skills when communicating with your patients can gain you more trust from them versus a doctor with poor grammar. Patients would tend to think that you weren't as well educated as others in your field. Your writing not only affects you but your company as well. The company you work for expects you to present yourself professionally as well as them.

Grammer in Health Profession

I interviewed Advisor A in the College of Science about the importance of grammar. Her answers did not surprise me at all; I had already expected grammar to be significant in any Health Professions. As a Health Provider of any field, it is significantly important to be able to speak correctly and write correctly. For example, if a doctor is to speak improper English, we may question his performances and intelligence. Moreover, he would not be respected.

Advisor A commented that Health Care Providers with good grammar have more benefits. For example, good grammar will allow communication skills to be more effective and comprehendible. Furthermore, good communication will lead to great interaction with patients in which they will feel more welcome.

In all, grammar and proper English is neccessary in the Health Profession. It is significant to speak proper and thus, a health provider will earn more respect through his effective communication and grammatically correct writing.

Writing for Anthropology

Teacher X from anthropology said that writing is very important in this field. All of the research that we do in our field has to be recorded and typed in reports. Proper and effective communication is extremely important because professionals from all over read and review all the published reports. Your reports are criticized by many people due to their methodology, hypotheses, and conclusions about their findings, so the last thing that they need to be criticized on is their grammar. The reports and articles are also published in magazines and journals. A lot of reports take years to get published after the research has already been done, partly because people don't want to deal with all the criticism that goes along with getting it published. Anthropology research, especially the artifact collection part is very detailed and precise, so being able to report it in a logical and organized manner is important. Teacher X realizes that the students are not yet professionals in their field so X doesn’t expect them to be perfect writers. X will make comments and subtract points for some grammar errors, but what’s really more important is that the students are able to show an understanding about the material that they have learned. As long as they get the big picture and are able to write about what they have learned and use examples, that is more important then some grammar errors. X thinks that for the most part the students have a pretty decent grip on grammar but almost everyone could use a refresher course so that they can learn why they seem to keep making the same errors. It takes experience and the more reading, writing, and research that you do will just keep making you better and better at your writing in the field.

Grammar in Public Health

Recently I spoke with Professor X in Public Health. He felt that grammar was most certainly important to careers with in the field. When students leave the University and get jobs there ability to write effectively will no longer only reflect back on them, but on the organization as well. Thus, making it important for them to have a grasp on grammar. Students should know how to compose memos, and documents that are free of mistakes. The classes that he teaches do not involve a lot of written assignments, so there was really no one error that stood out to him. However, he did feel that many students do not take the time to look over their work before handing it in. This was also something that he commonly sees in e-mails. Simple mistakes that could be avoided if students took the time to proof read.

Grammar in Business

This past week, I spoke with Professor X in Business Administration. We discussed the importance of grammar in the business field and how writing is used to convey messages to employees, management, and other businesses. In business, we discussed, being concise and direct is very important. Despite if it is a quick e-mail, part of a report, a memo, or any other form of written communication, many business people do not have the time to read a highly stylized, drawn-out message. People are busy and have important things to do.
Professor X was top management and told me many things about writing. He laughed and admittedly told me he had never taken a grammar class, and perhaps there was more he could learn, but basic writing skills are important, very important. Employees of this field need to know how to write accurately. They need to know how to set up things formally and professionally. When talking to other clients, for example, you represent the company. If you have typos, poor writing and communications skills, it not only looks bad upon you, but also the company. If you write to management, professionally representing yourself is also very crucial.
When I asked about his students' grammar and writing, he told me he often doesn't get the chance to take notice. Professor X teaches financial courses and usually looks at students' development of accounting skills. Though, he did tell me, when he gets e-mails from students, sometimes he is a little disappointed. Students often don't take time to look over what they wrote-- there are misspelled words, sometimes sentences that don't make sense, and many times students send messages with a lot of harvested anger because of a test score and other student grade dilemmas. This was certainly not professional and would not be acceptable in the real world.
My visit with Professor X was very useful because it really hit on the importance of professionalism. Many of the things we talked about I had heard from other professors in other classes or from business people I know personally. These things are important and being able to write and communicate clearly and efficiently is a key skill in today's fast paced business world. Your writing represents you and whoever you may represent.

Language of Power continued...

One student asked, “Why do we have to discuss teaching minority children the language of power? Why not just teach everyone acceptance?”

My response to these questions is this: First, to deny that our country has rid itself of racism is ignorant. It is also ignorant to suggest that acceptance is the key to ridding racist belief and oppression. Acceptance has nothing to do with the fact that our institutional makeup and language has an inherent power present in its very foundation. This country was founded on this kind of power and our government and social structures are held up by this inherent power. Furthermore, understanding that our language and social norms determines how successful we are able to navigate the system. To not address this fact puts those without the necessary resources in place (home, education, community) at a disadvantage. Those who are privileged (with current understanding of norms, codes, and social resources) often overlook any understanding of the power they have and take their placement in society for granted. It is easy for them to think everyone has the same resources and tools, but this is where the problem lies. In order to solve it, all of us who are privileged need to be aware of the power they hold. It is a crime to deny that it exists for the benefit of some, but not others. Yes, this is unfair. Yes, we need to acknowledge that we have power over others through our language and culture. We don’t want to go back to the days when African Americans had to pass a voting test so heavily coded with the language of power in Alabama, that not even the average white citizen could pass the requirements and be allowed to vote. This is the same for all aspects of our social institutions, schools, government, and our very communities.

Lisa McDougald
group 6
Posted February 6, 2005

Issues of languange & power in other fields

I am not planning on becoming a teacher; however I feel that the issues of language and power will still be relevant to me in the health care field. One major issue in health care today is the ever increasing uninsured population in the United States. A large majority of those without insurance coverage are minorities. This means that they are most likely not receiving the proper care. Many minorities are also discouraged from seeking treatment because they can not speak English, and are unable to effectively communicate with the medical staff. So, as I enter into the health care field language and power will certainly be important issues in need of some sort of effective solution.

Lindsey Nicol