• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

The Importance of proper grammar on this forum AND in the CF

JB 11 11

Jr. Member
Inactive
Reaction score
0
Points
110
I am putting this here because this area gets quite a bit of traffic from soon-to-be members and/or people looking to become members and thought a thread on this topic might save some people from some unnecessary flaming ;) Mods, feel free to move it where it should be, if not here.

I've been on here for a bit while I wait (P.A.T.I.E.N.T.L.Y.) for my chosen trades to open up, but in that time I have seen countless posts where the grammar has been, quite simply put, frightening! Now let me state for the record that I AM NOT at all a grammar wizard and in fact I did poorly in grammar while I was in school. My spelling can be quite atrocious, but by and large, I make an effort to use such tools at my disposal as "Spell Check" and some ancient pieces of grammatically priceless literature called "Thesaurus" and "Dictionary", to correct any short comings I may have in the grammar department.

All joking aside though, as some of the staff on here (not to mention current members) have alluded to, you will need to do a bit of writing in BMQ and a lot more writing in BMOQ if you are aspiring to join the CF. And although I have not gone through BMQ, I can assure you that the flaming you get from the staff on here is like a hug from a teddy bear compared to what you'll get from your staff if you write like that on course.

So, ok... maybe I am being a bit harsh. Granted you might write on the internet one way and be a regular Oscar Wilde when writing for real. And granted in some light hearted threads, the internet standard of piss poor linguistics (My term for it) is fine, and in some rare instances, perhaps even saves one time. However, this brings me to my next point.... laziness.
This forum is not a chat room, ICQ or MSN messenger. You do not need to use social abbreviations and acronyms to get your point across, and in fact , using them on this forum is about as inappropriate as wearing nothing more than a g-string and bow-tie to meet the in-laws (Sorry...it was the first thing that came to mind).

At no time does this hold more true than when one is asking questions of the members and/or the staff.
Personally, nothing strikes fear into me more than reading a post from someone who wants to be an officer, someone who might very well hold MY life in their hands someday, and writes there queries in the manner: "ne 1 no how mny pshups i need to do?".

Take your time to write properly. If you don't have a clue how to, or are like I was and suck real bad at it, then take the time to at least use the spell check. The creators of this site have kindly included one into the reply window tools (Its right there beside the "Post" and "Preview" buttons) Or, if you find yourself wanting to improve yourself, then reading a lot will also help. It did for me.
Writing well will get you a lot farther than trying to be witty and cool with people. It speaks to your maturity and gives people the idea that you take yourself seriously. And those are the type of people the CF is looking for.... or at the very least, the type of people I hope to someday serve with.

Food for thought people.

As Always My  :2c:
JB
 
Well put - PM inbound.

Worth a sticky maybe?
 
No worries. Hopefully some will take it seriously, though I suspect most will insist on learning the hard way ::)
 
Not to be picky but...

"and writes there queries in the manner:"

Just an observation from someone that didn't take BMQ or University grammar.

Go ahead nail me.
 
missing1 said:
Not to be picky but...

"and writes there queries in the manner:"

Just an observation from someone that didn't take BMQ or University grammar.

Go ahead nail me.

Fair enough. perhaps it is not the Queen's English, but like I said... Im not amazing at grammar either. :-*
 
Here you go, grammar for those of us with short attention spans: http://theoatmeal.com/tag/grammar
 
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military
 
PeterBoy said:
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military

Basing this on your extensive experience ?
 
PeterBoy said:
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military

I'd say you're 100% wrong.

Every trade in the CF will encounter administration at some point or another.  Some may be heavier on it at some ranks than others, and some trades may be heavier on it than others.  In the end, you cannot function if you cannot communicate clearly in writing and speech in the CF.
 
PeterBoy said:
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military


You'd be surprised at the the extent proper  grammar influences the credibility of your writing, notwithstanding the pertinence of your ideas, and you will be writing.  And if it applies to writing, it applies to the spoken word as well, but even more so.  ;D
 
PeterBoy said:
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military

Tell that to my favourite red pen.
 
cavalryman said:
You'd be surprised at the the extent proper  grammar influences the credibility of your writing, notwithstanding the pertinence of your ideas, and you will be writing.  And if it applies to writing, it applies to the spoken word as well, but even more so.  ;D

If you were working for me it would...just ask some of the youngsters who've received memos back covered in red.

MM
 
PeterBoy said:
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military

Neither will being on punctuality, preparedness, and proper dress.  ::) ::) ::)
 
PeterBoy said:
  Your grammar will have absolutely no bearing on your success in bmq as well as your career in 85% of all trades in the military

18 years infantry, my ability to communicate in written media is tested every single day. It starts when you are in BMQ, and transitions to more importance post PLQ (because now you are writing for subordinates). By the time you are doing your DP4/ALP, your subordinates depend on your ability to engage in prose to get them the things they need (a well intentioned but poorly written PDR will not do your subordinates any favours).

So, if you are happy with being a Cpl, who never submits any memos (guess you care not for any type of leave outside of normal block leave), I guess one could claim that written communication is not important. For the rest of us, who want courses, want to take part in special events, who are required to submit the proper staff work to train our troops... Written communication is a key skill.
 
The only writing you do on BMQ is your autobiography. Memos and orders are basically written in point form. I spell and use grammar like an ESL student and still topped my PLQ. I agree with some of the comments on this thread and didn't mean to spark a debate on this topic but lets get serious here, there is no English test to become an instructor at St Jean, or get promoted. And if there was it would be multiple choice and you would get three chances at it. All I'm saying is if you skipped most to all of your high school English classes or just slept through them your not gonna get a "FLAMING" or be a cpl for life. I think the attitude portrayed in the first post may jeopardize your success in the CF more then the guy who used "to" instead of "too" or the guy who uses "lol" or "ttyl" on an internet forum.
 
If you don't think you don't have to do writing as a Cpl, you're living a pretty sheltered life.  I not only had to submit memos fairly frequently, but also got handed a couple of service papers to write AS A CPL, and write letters and assessments on juniors AS A CPL.  If that stuff looked like crap, I got it back and started again.  You might not think that using the proper version on "their" vs "there" vs "they're" isn't a big deal, but those words actually have completely different meanings.  No different than one of my medics messing up "ileum" and "ilium" - two similar words that are completely different parts of the body.  It's one of those "pay attention to the details" things you likely heard so much about in BMQ, PLQ and every other course you've been on.  It's also indicative of a lack of caring on the part of the person submitting the work, and therefore a lack of professionalism, if they can't be bothered to ensure something as "mundane" as proper grammar or spelling in their written communications.  You're not going to have fun writing PER's if that's your attitude - my guess is they'll all be coming back for re-writes.

:2c:

MM
 
PeterBoy said:
The only writing you do on BMQ is your autobiography. Memos and orders are basically written in point form. I spell and use grammar like an ESL student and still topped my PLQ. I agree with some of the comments on this thread and didn't mean to spark a debate on this topic but lets get serious here, there is no English test to become an instructor at St Jean, or get promoted. And if there was it would be multiple choice and you would get three chances at it. All I'm saying is if you skipped most to all of your high school English classes or just slept through them your not gonna get a "FLAMING" or be a cpl for life. I think the attitude portrayed in the first post may jeopardize your success in the CF more then the guy who used "to" instead of "too" or the guy who uses "lol" or "ttyl" on an internet forum.

No problem - continue on believing your experience to date is reflective of most of the CF, and come back and let us know how you made out in 20 years or so.
 
Back
Top