Today, we’re going to cover writing mechanics. When writers talk about ‘mechanics’ they’re referring to all the rules and guidelines that form the system for expressing ideas. This includes spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and the format for numbers and names. Some people include grammar as well, but that is better grouped with the ‘structure’ of a language. In this post, when I refer to mechanics, I will not be including grammar.
Ok, let’s start at the beginning. All writing starts with ideas and thoughts about these ideas, but one of the important aspects of communicating through writing is the understanding that you’re writing for others. This concept of ‘audience’ is critical for expressing ideas effectively and is the main reason mechanics are so important.
PUNCTUATION – helps us regulate writing with pauses of various types and emotion so that readers know how the sentence should be read. This assists with clarifying meaning.
CAPITALIZATION – in English, this helps us identify the beginning of sentences, proper nouns, and titles.
SPELLING – keeps the meaning clear by ensuring the right words are used. Sometimes students have such trouble with these that meaning is hindered and it’s difficult to understand what they’re really trying to say.
Each of these categories has its own skills and strategies for getting young writers to comply with the necessary conventions, but one thing helps overall. And that’s understanding why these things are needed. We often take it for granted that young writers know the impact errors in these areas have on their writing. Some of them don’t. So take the time to enlighten them.
Revisit the notion of audience and that writing is for someone else to consume. Explain that the exchange of meaning is interrupted when punctuation, spelling, and capitalization aren’t up to standard. Encourage correct usage by making learning fun and creating checklists for reviewing written work.
