right/wrong

KappaKittyCat · #1 09-13-2007, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I LIKE MLA style - am I the only one? Footnotes make my head hurt.
Also, the book is nice and thick - useful when being attacked by those opposed to good grammar and spelling.

I guess I just prefer reading the body of the work uninterrupted by citations. If I'm using a piece for research I first want to read it over to get an idea of what it says and the tone. Then I go back and find passages I like, at which point I care about the source. The in-line citations, to me, break up the reading process. I guess it comes because I'm a historian by training and I like reading "stories."

And for what it's worth, the Chicago Manual of Style is no magazine... I imagine a good whomp on the head with it would cause a nice, shiny bruise.

PS: I too am a grammar Nazi, but I refuse to say "an historian" unless the pompous punks who insist upon the use of "an" before an aspirate H will say "an hockey puck."

AlphaFrog · #2 09-13-2007, 08:19 AM

While we're all being huge nerds, this is my favorite grammar book. I had a professor my freshman year of college (Honors King Aurthur's Literature, Writing Intensive, great class) that made us all get one. Includes such phrases as: "The subject is that part of the sentence about which something is divulged; it is what the sentence's other words are gossiping about...". It's brilliant, really.

SWTXBelle · #3 09-13-2007, 08:26 AM

YES - I love these books, and used them in teaching. I also am a big fan of Lynn Truss of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" fame.
Grammar nerds, unite.

lovelyivy84 · #4 09-13-2007, 09:35 AM

Just pointing out:

I am most emphatically not a grammar nerd.

I think it's just another one of the hoops that we all jump through to reinforce our ideals of social class. Grammar is intrinsic- you know when something makes sense or when it's meaningless babble (wannabe's posts). Reading a grammar book won't change that,just tell you where to put the commas and semi-colons.

AlphaFrog · #5 09-13-2007, 09:43 AM

If using proper grammar and expecting the same of others makes me a snob, then just call me Paris Hilton.

It's really not difficult, and you will be taken 100 times more serious (whether here on GC or out in the "real world") if you take the time to proofread, punctuate and capitalize.

SydneyK · #6 09-13-2007, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

It's really not difficult, and you will be taken 100 times more serious (whether here on GC or out in the "real world") if you take the time to proofread, punctuate and capitalize.

Ahem... self-proclaimed grammar nerd (snob?), here.

You're right, AF, even though you were grammatically incorrect. You will be taken 100 times more seriously...

AlphaFrog · #7 09-13-2007, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Ahem... self-proclaimed grammar nerd (snob?), here.

You're right, AF, even though you were grammatically incorrect. You will be taken 100 times more seriously...

Actually, I knew I was wrong, and that it didn't sound right, but my brain shut off and I couldn't figure out how to better express my sentiment.

Still, when I say I'm a grammar snob, I mean I appreciate the attempt, even if it's not perfect. People, such as the OP, who don't even make the attempt are what drive me crazy.

LPIDelta · #8 09-13-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KappaKittyCat

I guess I just prefer reading the body of the work uninterrupted by citations.

When I read things written in APA, I tend to totally ignore the citations--I guess I must be used to it. Only after I've read through once do I go back and pay attention to who they were citing, if I need to.

(And Kevin, she's in college, hoping to transfer).