Grammar Shame and the Grammar Troll Controversy

Grammar Shame and the Grammar Troll Controversy
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Ever been alerted to a typo? Accused of grammar crimes by a blog reader? It isn’t pretty.

Especially for those of us who make part of our living as editors or who teach about writing, grammar, spelling and usage, the occasional mistake feels particularly embarrassing.

Yet, after getting over the initial grammar shame, I felt grateful to the person who let me know of my error so I could fix it.

Most grammar sticklers tend to be kind and compassionate. They send a private email. It’s rare to receive a public blog comment or, worse, a separate blog post that tears you apart for grammar or usage issues.

Yet, public shaming does happen. I’ve been its victim only once and I felt incredibly exposed and stupid until a few editor friends told me the shamer was using archaic ideas and I should just ignore him.

Still, we want to put our best foot forward—grammar matters. Grammar errors can affect your credibility with readers in whatever field you write about.

In celebration of National Grammar Day, the folks at Grammarly have put together a fun infographic on “The Anatomy of a Grammar Troll.” Ah, and with the helpful infographic below I have identified my own public shamer as a grammar troll, for sure!

www.Grammarly.com
www.grammarly.com
www.grammarly.com
www.grammarly.com

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot