Highlights and Critics

            Philip B. Corbett presents some highlights about special entries written in the newspaper in the past week. I found it very interesting to observe the way he responds to the entries. Corbett is able to make his point clearly and directly in a very concise manner. This makes the reader thoroughly understand him and either sympathize with him or disagree with him immediately. This way of evaluating the entries gives Corbett credibility, since the readers do not feel that he is trying to persuade them of thinking one way or another but is simply stating the main characteristics of the writing piece and giving a thoughtful insight on them. However, Corbett criticizes the constant use of dangling modifier, which adds ambiguity to the sentence in which they are present. A dangling modifier is an error caused by not placing the noun being modified next to its modifier.

            These modifiers are very common in day-to-day conversations since they have become part of the way we speak. Corbett, consistently states “rephrase” at the end of his analysis, giving the sense that the only way to fix this error is by restating the whole sentence again. Now that I think about it, there are times when I have used a dangling modifier. For example, this is the case when I say “Hoping to excuse my lateness, the note was given to my teacher.” One factor leading to my use of dangling modifiers might be the direct translation of the sentence from Spanish to English. Although the person who uses the modifier understands completely what he is trying to say, the other individuals, especially if it is a written piece, might have trouble understanding that sentence. Also, it is crucial to point out that by fixing these grammatical mistakes, one can add a lot of credibility to his writing and improve his accurateness. It is not merely a matter of polishing your grammar, but of transmitting your message in a clear and effective manner.