The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-11-26
Writing Good English.

five were to assert that not one college STU
dent.in four could write half>a dozen pages OF
his own composition in such manner that any
we'll known printing establishment would be
willing to publish them without alteration, it
would doubtless seem to many persons like
verv strange statement. We do not make the
assertion. Perhaps it would not be true. But
if it were made by any one else, we should by
no means feel sure enough of its incorrectness
to contradict it. 1t is certain that very large
part of our educated youth of both sexes are
unable to put their thoughts on. paper without
numerous Inaccuracies.
Perhaps the most frequent errors ofeducated
people in writing are connected with Punctua-
ton. That many mistakes of this kind are
made is notat all wonderful. There is good
deal of difference of opinion as to what constl-
tutes correctness in this respect. But the cir
cumstance that it is not always easy to deter
mine what point should be used in particular
place is no reason for writing as II punctuat0n
had never been invented. If man is IN doubt
whether to wear light coat or heavy one on
September day, it does not necessarily follow
that he should 60 in his shirt sleeves. Inc dl-
versity of theories in regard to punctuation
does not render. for instance, letter on sever
al independent subjects without single full
stop. except the one at the end, creditable
either to the education of the individual who
writes it. or to the institution at which he or
she has been taug int. -"o
Another class Of errors which must be men
toned is that of mistakes in grammar. These,
it is true, are much less frequent among young
people of education than deficiencies in respect
to punctuation. Yet there are thousands of
such persons who would be highly indignant at
the charge of writing ungrammatical English, to
whom a gentle hint that, for instance, the OBJ
ective case of the pronoun "who," always ends
with an m, or little instruction in regard to
the proper use of the auxiliaries "shalP', and
"will,,''' might be of material service.
If the more advanced students in some OF our
colleges or female seminaries were each to be
required to write, without assistance, letter or
a composition of any kind, and II then what
had been writton should be printed without al
teration, and distributed among parents and
friends of the authors, it would constitute a
species of examination Of which, we venture to
say, few institutions would be proud. We by
no means recommend such test. On the con-
trary, we should denounce an attempt OF the
kind as utterly heartless and cruel. NO 1n-
structor could for moment be justified in thus
exposing to ridicule his students. But it would
be, in some respects, an excellent criterion II
professors and teachers in our higher educa-
tional institutions, on perusing the compositions
submitted to their inspection, were to ask them
selves how these productions would look in
print. And here we-would make suggestion
which may be valuable to some Of our college
students who are indulging hopes of distin-
gushing themselves in literature. 1t is often
the case that if these young men were to submit
their experiments in writing to the examination
of some good compositor in printing office,
he would be able to give them valuableinstruc-
ton which their professor of English literature
would not, and perhaps could not, impart. AT
all events, if instruction of this kind is fur
nished by the professors in our colleges, many
of our students appear to profit remarkably lit
tie by it.-New York Times.