Top Student Writing Mistakes: The Real “Madness” in Higher Education
According to some estimates, March Madness costs companies up to $134 million in lost productivity — with employees streaming the tournament online, updating brackets, participating in office pools, and more.
Imagine if the United States cared as much about the quality of a school’s curriculum as we do about the caliber of its basketball team?
In keeping with the competitive spirit of the NCAA basketball championship, the Grammarly team created a “tournament” of our own. We reviewed articles from 16 student newspapers at colleges across the country to come up with our own “Final Four,” as determined by the most well-written student newspapers. Here they are:
- The Stanford Daily (Stanford University)
- Statesman (Utah State University)
- Dartmouth Review (Dartmouth College)
- The Prospector (University of Texas, El Paso)
Congratulations to these exceptional student newspapers for the quality writing!
Is quality of writing a predictor of inclusion in the actual Final Four tournament? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, here is an overview of some of the most common writing mistakes made by students using the Grammarly platform.
What types of writing mistakes did you make as a student?
Bad Writing: What it Means for Your Career (INFOGRAPHIC)
Is poor writing an indicator that you will be less successful in your career?
Kyle Wiens, CEO at iFixit, suggested as much in a July 20, 2012 article (“I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”) which appeared in Harvard Business Review’s blog network.
Yesterday, in honor of National Grammar Day, Harvard Business Review posted another article (“Grammar Should Be Everyone’s Business”) written by Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover. Brad’s article provides real data to back up Mr. Wiens’ supposition that poor grammar predicts poor career outcomes.
Here’s a breakdown of the data:
- Professionals with fewer grammar errors in their Linkedin profiles achieved higher positions. Those who failed to progress to a director-level position within the first 10 years of their careers made 2.5 times as many grammar mistakes as their director-level colleagues.
- Fewer grammar errors correlate with more promotions. Professionals with one to four promotions over their 10-year careers made 45 percent more grammar errors than those with six to nine promotions in the same time frame.
- Fewer grammar errors associate with frequent job changes. Those who remained at the same company for more than 10 years made 20 percent more grammar mistakes than those who held six jobs in the same period. This could be explained in a couple of ways: People with better grammar may be more ambitious in their search for promising career opportunities, or job-hoppers may simply recheck their résumés between jobs.
Are you interested in sharing the data? Tweet about it now!
Or, let us know what you think in the comments below. Have your writing skills ever influenced your career in a positive or a negative manner?
Grammarly Announces Winner of $1,000 Scholarship
In mid-January, Grammarly launched its first-ever scholarship essay competition, encouraging students to share their thoughts on grammar.
We received an overwhelming response from students of all ages, in all disciplines, who wrote about topics ranging from the profound impact of texting on spelling and grammar, to the quality of writing instruction in public schools. After perusing your essays, Grammarly is delighted to announce the $1,000 scholarship winner: David Ahia.
David’s “punny” essay, which describes a time that spelling bruised his confidence, is not only well-written, but it tells a compelling story about the importance of proofreading. Congratulations, David!
To all of the participants in this year’s scholarship competition: Thank you for sharing your personal thoughts and anecdotes. The Grammarly team enjoyed reading each essay, and we encourage each of you to keep on writing.
Reblog if you know what irony actually is. SHARE your best definition in the comments.
From a Facebook fan. Thank you!
Share your ideas and funny writing- and grammar-related content with us on our Facebook page.
Have you ever heard that writers should never end a sentence with a preposition?
What do you think?
Bear vs. Bare
Bear and bare are homophones—words that sound alike but have different meanings.
bear
-v.
1. To carry something.
2. To be equipped with something.
- the right to bear arms
________________________________________________
bear
-n.
- 1. A large omnivorous mammal, related to the dog and raccoon, having shaggy hair, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of family Ursidae, particularly of subfamily Ursinae
- (informal) An animal that resembles a bear, such as a koala or ant bear.
(Visit Grammarly Words for a more complete definition.)
__________________________________________________
bare
-adj.
- Minimal; that is or are just sufficient.
- the bare necessities
2. Naked, uncovered.
- Don’t show your bare backside in public.
3. Having no supplies.
- a room bare of furniture
- The cupboard was bare.
(Visit Grammarly Words for a more complete definition.)
Download Grammarly Lite to write without mistakes on Tumblr, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and more. It’s FREE. http://bit.ly/XSjvbA
Grammar Revolution is a documentary Kickstarter project by David and Elizabeth O’Brien, aimed at changing the way people think about grammar.
From the Kickstarter page:
“Dear Backers,
$22,000 is the minimum we need to finish the Grammar Revolution documentary. This fundraising campaign is all or nothing. We have to meet our goal of $22,000 by February 7. Your credit card will only be charged if we reach our goal.
We’ve already filmed many amazing interviews, but we need your help if we are going to finish filming and do all the work needed to produce, edit, release, and distribute it! Please contribute what you can and share this video with your friends. Thank you for your support!”
This brings up a valuable question: why is grammar important? Tell us what you think!
Download Grammarly Lite to write without mistakes on Tumblr, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and more. It’s FREE. http://bit.ly/XSjvbA
