02CICYM
14/1/07
6:32 pm
Page 104
subjunctive mood is optional, desirable or indispensable? And how are we to gauge the importance of knowing the difference between a preposition and a conjunction? But actually, there’s a simple answer. As a persuasive writer, you need to know as much grammar as your reader – or perhaps just a little more. Otherwise, she will be continually bumping into your hanging pronouns or tripping over your dangling participles. And you wouldn’t want that, would you?
H humour I’m going to tell you my favourite joke; but I’m afraid you probably won’t find it funny, unless you’re a writer. (And even then, there’s a good chance you may not.) It’s a true story. A few years back, university lecturers were up in arms about something or other. They held a protest rally. A picture appeared on the front page of the newspaper; in the foreground, a large home made banner bearing the rousing slogan: Rectify the Anomaly!
104 A PERSUASIVE WRITING A TO Z