March 4th is National Grammar Day, a day to march forth to speak well, write well, and help others do the same. You can check out the website for all the fun grammar-related articles and activities. Or my post last year, which shared some of my past grammar-related articles from the blog.
This year, I saw a fun contest that involves haiku. I love haiku, and I’ve written a few here in the past. The American Copy Editors Society (ACES) is hosting the National Grammar Day Tweeted Haiku Contest. The contest is open until until noon, March 3, with the winners announced on March 4, National Grammar Day. You’ll need to tweet your grammar-related haiku and use the hashtag #GrammarDay.
In honor of the big day, I decided to write haiku about my three biggest grammar-related pet peeves. (If you’ve worked with me on a writing project, you’ll understand!)
1. I cannot stand it when people put two spaces after a period. Yes, many of us were taught to use two spaces in school, including me. It’s incorrect and has been since we’ve started using computers regularly. It’s time to stop. (Read this article for more explanation.)
No typewriters here
One space after period
Is the way to go
#grammarday #haiku
— Jennifer Barbour (@anotherjenb) March 3, 2014
2. How many exclamation points are needed to show that you are excited? I say one. If you are a good writer, you can show your excitement through your words. Nine exclamation points after every sentence in a blog post, letter, email or Facebook status is a tad overkill.
Exclamation points
How excited can you be?
Just one should suffice
#grammarday #haiku
— Jennifer Barbour (@anotherjenb) March 3, 2014
3. When you google Comic Sans, it autofills with things like “Comic Sans hate” and “Comic Sans criminal.” Unless you are an eight year old girl, please stop using it. Now.
Use of Comic Sans
You cannot be serious
The font should be banned
#grammarday #haiku
— Jennifer Barbour (@anotherjenb) March 3, 2014
