Leading article: Eats, shoots and punctuates
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As the means through which we can communicate with our fellow humans multiply each year, it is tempting to assume that grammar is a bit irrelevant. When we can text , BlackBerry and email our friends and colleagues by pressing a few buttons, to worry about the proper use of a semicolon may seem a waste of time. This theory is superficially attractive, but wrong.
Consider the huge success of Lynne Truss's grammar handbook Eats, Shoots and Leaves. This shows that even in our hectic society there is a yearning for correct grammar. Now the book is being adapted for children to be used as a teaching aid. This project deserves to succeed. Teaching children how to express themselves clearly in writing is still a crucial part of education. And instilling the rudiments early on will save aspiring journalists, tattooists and grocers from having to fork out for the reissued version of Ms Truss's book in a decade's time.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments