Generally, the exceptions to formal writing rules are rare but technology's burst has altered a few.
In a New York Times article, “The ‘Advice Gap’: When Words of Wisdom Fall on Deaf Ears,” a 21-year old consulted her mother about punctuation for a thank you email she had written to an executive in his 30s. Although the daughter insisted on including multiple exclamation points for emphasis, she relented and limited one to the email. In reply, the executive attached an exclamation mark to three of the four sentences he wrote. Did the mother err in dispensing advice based on formal writing rules? Absolutely not.
In a New York Times article, “The ‘Advice Gap’: When Words of Wisdom Fall on Deaf Ears,” a 21-year old consulted her mother about punctuation for a thank you email she had written to an executive in his 30s. Although the daughter insisted on including multiple exclamation points for emphasis, she relented and limited one to the email. In reply, the executive attached an exclamation mark to three of the four sentences he wrote. Did the mother err in dispensing advice based on formal writing rules? Absolutely not.
The exclamation mark inclusion wouldn’t have been advisable had the young woman sent an email or handwritten note of thanks for a position with no technology emphasis. Yet, if anything, she is to be commended for knowing her target audience despite the obvious aversion to formal writing rules.
Generational Writing
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