2.01 Me, a grammarian?

In high school, when the grammar nerd casually tosses in a “whom” into class discussion, we raise an eyebrow and snicker; in college, we raise an eyebrow and ask him to edit our papers after class.

In the Greek Academy of Plato’s time, there were only three subjects taught: Rhetoric, Logic, and Grammar. Nothing else mattered if you did not have a foundation in those three. Times haven’t changed: Check your current SAT.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we want to be better at grammar. If my assumption about you is true, you're in luck!

A true Grammar God or Goddess has two goals: to smite all users of poor grammar and to showboat the uses of good grammar both in spoken and written words. Once you learn the “rules” of grammar, you will begin to break those “rules” purposefully – utilizing run-ons and fragments, one-word sentences and one-sentence paragraphs, repetition, and inverted word orders. You will develop a voice and a style as a writer.

You will develop skills that will set you apart from everyone else in college and in your career. You will have what everyone else wants, and that can be extremely beneficial. First, though, we must learn the rules.

2.01 Assessment

Self-evaluation: In a short paragraph, write an honest evaluation of yourself in terms of your grammar knowledge. Are you a grammarian who silently (or loudly) corrects the grammar of others? Do you rely on Grammarly or other artificial intelligence to ensure clarity in your writing? Do you genuinely not care at all? There are no "right" or "wrong" answers, but an honest and specific evaluation of your current grammar knowledge is what I'm looking for.

If you're not sure how strong your grammar skills are, consider taking this self-evaluation: https://www.grammar.com/assessments.php