Bending the Grammar Rules
As much as it makes me cringe, sometimes I intentionally choose to end a sentence with a preposition or start a sentence with a word like “but” or “and.” Realistically, while these things are grammar no-nos, they’re also indicative of the way people talk. Most people don’t speak in proper grammar. When you’re trying to reach a working-class audience, you may be better off to bend the grammar rules and write like people talk – not like grammar says you should write.

Building Rapport by Speaking the Language
Sociologically speaking, people are more likely to trust people who come from a similar background. For example, if you’re a college-educated Ph.D., you’re going to speak differently than a high-school-educated blue-collar worker. The blue-collar worker is more likely to trust someone who speaks like him, because that implies the person came from a similar background and shares a similar set of values, world views and beliefs. The college-educated Ph.D. who speaks like one will encounter resistance among the blue-collar crowd; particularly on a subconscious level; because they do not come from similar backgrounds. The blue-collar worker doesn’t identify with the Ph.D. and feel that they share similar values, etc.

Bottom line? If you’re talking to a blue-collar worker, you’ll automatically be more effective if you speak like a blue-collar worker. The same thing holds true in reverse. If you’re writing for a highly-educated audience, you’d better make sure your grammar is correct and minimize the use of colloquialisms. A highly-educated audience is less likely to trust and identify with a source that doesn’t sound professional and educated, even if just on a subconscious level.

Match your tone and language to your audience. The most effective messages are typically the messages that the audience feels come from “one of their own.” Sound like a member of your audience, and you build an automatic connection and rapport. This is one of the keys to great writing versus good writing, and writers who can master this have an extremely valuable skill at their disposal.

Deciding Which Style Guide to Use

Deciding which style guide to use can pose challenges. Obviously, if a publication or client requires a specific style guide, use the specified style guide – even if it’s an in-house style guide that doesn’t agree with ‘correct’ grammar rules. If the publication or recipient doesn’t specify the style guide, think about how the writing is being used.

If you’re writing for a newspaper or consumer magazine, the AP Stylebook is probably the appropriate reference. The AP Stylebook is also widely used for Web writing.

If you’re doing business writing, on the other hand, you’ll probably be better served by The Chicago Manual of Style.

For scholarly writing, you might want Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style or The Publication Manual of The American Psychological Association (APA Style, not to be confused with AP Style). You may also want to use The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing for appropriate MLA Style.

Using ‘Correct’ Grammar vs. Common Parlance

When you’re doing formal writing, you should definitely use correct grammar. If you’re writing for a corporation, or drafting professional documents, you’re typically representing a company and should utilize correct grammatical rules and word usage. However, if you’re writing for a more informal audience – on a blog, for example, or for a less formal target demographic – you might want to consider intentionally throwing some of the grammar rules out.

For example, if you’re talking to a more informal audience, and you want to build a rapport, you might want to ignore grammar rules like “don’t end a sentence with a preposition” and throw one right out there on the end. In fact, I know a lawyer who intentionally prefers to use more common ‘incorrect’ punctuation and word usage so his clients view him as more accessible, instead of using a correct but stiff writing style that fails to connect with the readers.

The goal of all writing is to connect with your reader on some level, so consider who you want to reach when you’re writing a piece. Ask yourself what tone and style would be best received by your audience, and utilize that style. And yes – if it means bending some grammar rules, bend some grammar rules. The world will keep on spinning, and you might get a new customer out of it.

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

Finally, to make sure you’ve got it right, proofread, proofread, proofread. Read your copy as you’re writing it to ensure you’re using proper grammar and putting punctuation in the appropriate places. When you’ve finished a piece, re-read it for any errors and correct any awkward word usage. For important pieces, close the document and walk away from it for a while, and then come back later and review one final time for correctness. The triple-check should be enough to ensure you’re sending a beautiful, correct piece of writing out into the world, to the best of your ability.

“Expect it tomorrow, next Monday, or a week from today.”

OR

“Expect it tomorrow, next Monday or a week from today.”

Authorities say:

The Chicago Manual of Style, Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, MLA style and APA style all say to use the comma before the conjunction, clearly separating every item in the list. Legal writing authorities require every comma to be present in a series, arguing that the absence of the comma can completely change the context of a sentence – an important consideration in the legal field.

The AP Stylebook indicates that commas should be omitted before a conjunction in a series, arguing that the conjunction itself separates the item. AP Stylebook editors claim that this isn’t a ‘change’ perse, but that this has been their stance on serial commas since the AP Stylebook first appeared in its current incarnation in 1977.

You can identify a writer by the way he uses a comma.

As the distinctive guidelines indicate, it’s fairly easy to tell the field in which a writer works most frequently. Simply look at how the writer uses a serial comma. The writer that includes the comma before the conjunction probably works in an academic or formal publication field, as the authorities that cite this rule are used primarily in these fields.

The writer that omits the comma, however, likely spends most of his time working in the field of periodicals or consumer publications, as many magazines and newspapers use the AP Stylebook for style guidelines.

The jury says:

Ultimately, it appears that the answer to the great comma debate depends on personal preference and publication style guidelines. Both usages could theoretically be correct, depending on which authority you cite. Tempers swell over this important question, though, so if you defend your position too staunchly, be prepared for a heated debate. At least now you have a basis for your argument, but you may just have to agree to disagree.