{"id":3925,"date":"2015-07-03T12:39:54","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T19:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constant-content.com\/blog\/?p=3925"},"modified":"2022-05-09T15:00:31","modified_gmt":"2022-05-09T22:00:31","slug":"gross-grammar-the-importance-of-punctuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constant-content.com\/content-writing-service\/2015\/07\/gross-grammar-the-importance-of-punctuation\/","title":{"rendered":"Gross Grammar: The Importance of Punctuation"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Declaration of Independence is, for Americans, one of the most important documents ever written. In it, Thomas Jefferson lays out the reasons for the Colonies to leave British rule and forms the building blocks of what would eventually be the government of the United States. However, there is a typo in the transcript of the Declaration that isn’t there in the original manuscript\u2014and it could be twisting how people look at the American government. That typo? A single, small period.

Take a look at the typo in question:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. \u2014 That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, \u2014 That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

See that period after \u201cHappiness\u201d? That is the one causing so much consternation. That little jot of a period could mean that the government of the United States is subordinate to \u201cLife, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d However, if you take out the period, the sentence continues to flow, meaning that the government is in place to protect the \u201cunalienable Rights.\u201d This period in the transcript has influenced generations of Americans and how they view the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n

It’s pretty obvious how this can apply to modern writers: make sure your piece is saying what you want it to say. Punctuation<\/a>, as you can see from the example above, is important, and the wrong punctuation mark could fundamentally change the meaning of your sentence… The ramifications could be felt for hundreds of years! (Or just a few moments.)<\/p>\n

Proofreading is key to making sure your meaning is clear. Editors at Constant Content send back articles that have problems with clarity. You want to make sure the editors, the customer and, most importantly, the readers understand the information you are trying to convey. Try to look at the article with fresh eyes, if at all possible. Or hire an article writer<\/a> to save you the hassle of writing, editing and proofing. A good way to do this is to go do something else for an hour or so and then come back to your article. Read it again and make the needed corrections.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The smallest typo<\/a> can have some massive consequences; make sure your meaning is absolutely clear.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Declaration of Independence is, for Americans, one of the most important documents ever written. In it, Thomas Jefferson lays out the reasons for the Colonies to leave British rule and forms the building blocks of what would eventually be the government of the United States. However, there is a… Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":3926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[250],"tags":[14,271],"yoast_head":"\nGross Grammar: The Importance of Punctuation - Constant Content<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constant-content.com\/content-writing-service\/2015\/07\/gross-grammar-the-importance-of-punctuation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gross Grammar: The Importance of Punctuation - Constant Content\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Declaration of Independence is, for Americans, one of the most important documents ever written. 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