Greetings again to all those who took the grammar test!

Needless to say, I was quite amused by your answersI think you all took it a bit more seriously than you should have. Lighten up! This job is supposed to entertain your inner Grammar Nazi, not make you worry about Maam Castro. I kid, I kid. Here are some of my answers, and my reactions to your own words. I wont identify those who wrote them, but yall know who you are. Note: have no truck with the expression yall in yearbook editing. Its too informal. I. 1. THE WORD STUFFS IS NOT ADMISSIBLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. You are a UP student. Read like one. Stuff on its own denotes a collective noun pertaining to objects which may or may not be similarits the same as the word junk. Nobody says junks. 2. We are to boldly go where no man has gone before was previously unacceptable because of the split infinitivethe classic pet peeve of the traditionalist wherein modifiers split verb forms, leaving them a bit awkward to the ear at times. This would be to boldly go. However, this is now acceptable in formal English. How you feel about it is completely up to your aesthetic. It was a trick question. P.S. I hope you guys got the Star Trek reference. 3. As you can see in my answers above, I am very fond of the dashI see it as the eager cousin of the semi-colon. The dash is often used to continue a particular train of thought by connecting two sentences to each other, and I use it primarily to work on the rhythm of the sentence. A little aside here: in the use of punctuation, it is often prudent to read your work aloud first, using the punctuation for the appropriate pauses and emphasis. What sounds awkward to the ear is often also awkward on the pageyou just didnt realize it because it could be grammatically correct. Pay attention to rhythm. Now imagine if I had eliminated those dashes and substituted them with periods. Not as breezy, no? 4. The verb form sneaked is the more formal past tense for sneak, and it was only in the twentieth century that snuck started making its appearance in the English language. I personally dont mindmy rule (again) is if it sounds good, thats what we go with. Sometimes sneaked sounds better and adds length to an unwieldy sentence. Sometimes snuck can be used for the sake of brevity. This is actually more of a lesson on choosing the appropriate verbs for the situation at hand. 5. Smileys, hearts and other symbols are appropriate to retain in testimonials that come in the form of creative work, such as poetry. However, in no shape or form shall it make itself present in the average write-up. Emoticons are for chat windows, not for your mom to read. Let them keep it on iDVD testimonials, should the team so choose to have them. Just dont let them sully the dignity of the printed workremember, the college gets a copy. Do you really want our profs to know that we tolerate four-leaf clovers and hearts in our material? II. This is my corrected form:
Hmm... Carmela? She's a crazy little sweetheart! I can talk to her for hours without getting bored! She's got this unique character, though youve got to learn a lot more about her. She is very caring and always there for you no matter what! Shes always there to bug you too, especially when she's bored!

One thing quite common for her is that she gets into all kinds of messes like her boyfriend issues. If you want to win her heart, be there for her, especially during her bad times! She's someone with whom you could share all your problemsjust dont expect a solution! She doesnt care about jerks, and hates people who dont keep their promisefortunately excluding me. Im lucky to have her. She's a doll! Just be the way you are! -Evangil(ine), your friend, your bebe.

-LOL, TROLOLOL, HAHAHA AND ITS RELATIVES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. When working on your entry, think of your creative writing professors and how they would edit the work. Does the smiley really contribute anything? Does the onomatopoeia make any of the sentences seem funnier? Furthermore, watch the use of profanity. If an appropriate substitute can be found, or if the profane word can be ommitted altogether, do so. This is just my version. Ive seen all the others you guys have made, and apart from the odd grammatical error or two (messes, not mess, for example), I dont have much to quibble about. Be judicious when you edit. I hope none of you threw things at your laptop in sheer irritation. This is not the only error-riddled work I have edited; there were dozens that had to be heavily edited, from simple things like tense consistency (something which irritated me for months on end) to the heavier stuff like paragraphs that needed major overhauls both for formatting and content. Dont be discouraged. It would be in poor form to quit over a dangling modifier. III. 1. There are many reasons why people dont read as many books as they should, and even more for the UP student. Lets face it: were CAL majors, and our readings are enough to make us chuck our own leisure reading out the window sometimes. Suffice it to say that I will give the less frequent readers a free pass on account of this complication, and our exposure to literature through academic requirements. Do take the time to read a book a week. It doesnt have to be Kafka. There are always spare moments in every day for you to sift through a few pages, whether its during your commute, while waiting for the prof, or while taking a shower (guilty as charged). Reading encourages you to develop your aesthetic, as a reader, writer and editor. The more literature you read, the stronger your grammar gut becomes. Please be kind enough to admit that you dont remember most of the grammar dos and donts, because I dont at all. When in doubt, I go with my gut, and my gut has eaten a lot of books. Your grammar reflex will be weak when the only stuff you read is on Facebook or Twitter. Internet English has a way of killing your written work. 2. Going through the workshop process, whether for fiction, non-fiction or poetry, has a way of honing the editing process. You become used to deadlines and the idea of people reading your output., and you also become critical of the work of other people, focusing on improving the work and not on deluding someone into thinking that its perfect the way it is. Theres always room for improvement, and thats what you learn there. Its not a necessity, but it is an advantage. Do look back on your own workshop experiences, and see how you can apply them to the way you will work as an editor. Hold the quality of the work as the highest priority. Everything else you do for the board will be secondary. They can always have someone else market that shirt if youre really, really swamped, but there is no excuse for sloppy editing. 3. Your choices are heartwarming. I didnt realize that so many people could be united by their hatred of those who shun the Oxford comma. I know youve heard it all from people about your anal-retentiveness vis--vis the English language and its rules, but consider how miserable and empty the lives of the grammar peeve-free are: they do not appreciate sentence clarity, or how sentence restructuring can completely alter the tone and feel of a piece. They do not cringe at the sight of the wrong modifier

(which probably lets them sleep better at night), but they also dont see the beauty of word choices, and how the right adjective gives a sentence such music. Wear your pet peeves with (a little) pridejust not too visibly, otherwise some of your mischievous friends might use them against you.