Saturday, November 16, 2013

Punctuation's Mark

By abiding by the laws of punctuation, a writer’s thoughts can be clearly translated to the readers through a form of common communication .While it is true that punctuation’s use has been changing since its initial creation, the punctuation rules from which the countless new changes branched out from are important to acknowledge. The ultimate rules of punctuation are “vital for clear, effective and consistent communication,” (Source A) in addition to “clarify[ing] meaning,” (Source A).
As exemplified with the overload of parentheses Lewis Thomas uses in Source D, it is clear that with the improper use of it, punctuation can turn into pointless symbols that do not build up the writer’s point; instead, it will hinder a reader’s ability to interpret the meaning of the piece. Some may argue that with the passing of time, the rules of punctuation have been outdated and that the rise of social media has revolutionized stylistic literature that serve as a “testing ground,” (Source F) for developing writers. However, after looking through a plethora of tweets, I can assume that social outlets such as Twitter were not meant for the greater good of writing. Sure, some tweets fashioned by poets and esteemed academics carry meaning. However, the majority of the Twitter population consists of people who could care less about rhetorical value and expression in what they are tweeting about.

  The rules of punctuation can prevent people from using punctuation inappropriately. Consequently, change isn’t always for the better if it entirely diverges from everything it was based off of. 

1 comment:

  1. I strongly believe that every writing - whether big or small - conveys some message. Of course some tweets might seem trivial in our lives, but they convey a message about the personality, life and events of someone else who they might have been important too. They speak about character.
    I really like your post. It does make people think about why punctuation is set in place. Nice job!

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