Attention please! Please use proper and formal English when posting

[knok]

Hi members,

 

I know that your test is coming. You may feel stressed. Please help make the forum easy to read.

 

It has been a while that this forum has been started. We are in an academic forum. Your messages are valuable assets to others. They are not deleted when you shut down your computer as you do in a chat room.

 

We need your cooperation.

 

Please read:

 

1. Please use proper English.

 

You would like to reduce your time. Readers may have to spend more time trying to understand your English.

 

Example:

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/toefl-grammar/67374-i-wanna-develop-error-free-english.html

 

2 Please make testmagic an abbreviation free zone.

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/lounge/28655-make-tm-abbreviation-free-zone.html

 

3. Have dictionary gone out of fashion?

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/lounge/47758-have-dictionaries-gone-out-fashion.html

 

I can't imagine if a foreign pharmacist uses a lot of abbreviations to his/her co-workers, doctors, patients, or starts a sentence without a capital letter. I believe that they will be insulted by their American co-workers. Therefore, please try to develop your good English here. Otherwise, when you get used to improper English, one day, you may forget what the correct English is.

 

However, it is okay if you make grammatical errors because you don't know how to write perfect English but intentional use of mis-spelling is unacceptable. We are foreigners. Everyone unintentionally makes mistakes.

----------------------------------------------

For example:

 

This is bad:

 

I wanna develop error free english!!!

________________________________________

Sir i want to develop english fluency without grammatical errors. Pls suggest any idea for developing my grammatical error free english.

Rgds,

RBT

================================

This is the correct way to post:

 

I want to develop error free English

--------------------------------------------------------

Sir,

 

I want to develop English fluency without grammatical errors. Please suggest any idea for developing my grammatical error free English.

 

Regards,

 

Robert

--------------------------------------------------

Please observe capital letters, indent, punctuation, and avoid abbreviations.

 

 

We need your co-operation.

 

 

Thank you very much. Good luck on your coming test.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Knok

[mukhis]

I appreciate that you tell it to everyone. Even I don't like informal English in my thread which is a test Q&A thread "Ask a Question and Find Answer (s)!".

[knok]

Thank you for your comment. Since the owner of the forum is an English teacher and his major is English Literature, he is really concerned about the usage of English. However, it seems a bit out of hands.

 

We should help make the forum survive in the long run. If everyone uses sloppy English, it will make it hard for native speakers to read. Please remember that the forum is read by many people around the world including pharmacists from English speaking countries.

 

I hope that you all understand this. Imagine that if nobody can understand your messages, eventually, who is going to read and answer your questions?

 

Don't get mad if you get the notice please. We need to do something before it is too late.

 

Thank you very much.

 

FPGEE is not a complicated test. If you used to practice as a pharmacist, you should be able to pass it. I remember that I spent 8 months to study for it, but on the day of the exam, I could barely remember anything from the 8 months of my study, but I dug up my knowledge from what I discussed to doctors, patients, customers, symposiums, literatures, journals, and even the packages of the medicines when I grabbed and put them on shelves during practicing as a pharmacist and working in companies.

 

Good luck on your test.;)

Knok

[Erin]

I'm going to sticky this thread for a while.

[rusty]

I'm very sorry but I do not understand what it means when you say "I'm going to sticky this thread". Please explain to me as I feel that I may not benefit from this forum if I cannot comprehend where the thred is going.Thank you and my apologies for being so ignorant.

[Erin]

That just means I'm going to make the thread appear at the top of the pharmacy forum for a while.

[knok]

Folks,

 

I am not strict on grammar but please avoid the textese. Please use capital letters where needed. Not using a capital letter at a beginning of sentence is considered the textese.

 

http://www.www.urch.com/forums/fpgee/ann...t-textese.html

 

An infraction has been given because of the use of 'Textese'. This is the name given in the forums to incorrect English where capital letters are not used where needed, abbreviations used excessively, punctuation is omitted and so on.

 

Please read this Announcement by Erin.

 

Please try to use correct English in your future posts.

 

When only a few members start a sentence without a capital letter or use the textese, it spreads very fast. It appears that everyone will do the same. It is considered the textese. Please help make the forum easy to read. Please do not get mad when you receive the infraction. We are in an academic forum. Please be considerate to readers by posting correct English as much as you can. Thank you for your co-operation.

 

Good luck on your exam.

 

Knok

[knok]

Originally Posted by samir_fpgee

Are we here to discuss about grammetical matter? Does it matter if we use any abbreviation?

 

samir,

 

This Announcement by Erin may clarify things.

 

Concern has been expressed for some time about the growing use of Textese here. Examples include not using capitals at the start of sentences or for I, missing out punctuation and using abbreviations such as thx, ur, cud, dunno and so on.

 

Obviously there are occasions when people make mistakes, and not everyone here has perfect English, but there is a feeling that forums devoted to improving English should be used by people who at least try to post in good English. Doing so not only helps people improve their English it also helps others who wish to improve their English and who may be confused by Textese.

 

Also obviously some posts are brief notes, others may not easily conform to well written English styles. Some abbreviations are in common usage in normal 'correct' English or may be common here (such as PM).

 

wot we rlly wanna dos stp psts lik dis so pls dont do dat wil u thnx

 

Michael

__________________

Native English speaker just trying to help people who post using proper English.

 

:tup:

[knok]

:tup: :tup:

Originally Posted by Farfoura

Even though I don't think that the forum got to a point where readers were unable to understand the posts, I have to say that it is nice to read well written english and we should encourage this.

 

Originally posted by Wasleys

Farfoura,

 

Most posts are intelligible to people who are used to seeing Textese and who have a reasonable command of English. However not everyone here uses Textese so will be confused by it and not everyone here has good English (that's why folk come here!) and they will find Textese impossible to understand.

 

Also people learning English may think that some Textese words are real English words and may take them into their vocabulary with unfortunate results later.

 

Incidentally there have been a few amazingly impenetrable Textese posts.

 

Michael

__________________

Native English speaker just trying to help people who post using proper English. [/Quote]

 

-

[Erin]

Good posts, knok. I have to say that for me, reading textese (or as Michael writes, Textese, as if it were a whole new language unto itself) causes me to come to a screeching halt, like riding a bicycle through a patch of sand. I've actually stopped reading almost all the posts in textese.

 

And I haven't actually said this before, but as the forum founder and admin, I'm actually embarrassed when I see textese here. This forum is the only one that I go to that has so much on it. :(

[knok]

:)

Why do we need capital letters at the beginning of sentences and titles?

The proper use of capitals is important in helping people to read more easily. Capitals help to clarify sentence breaks and draw eyes to the start of a sentence or paragraph.

 

Michael

__________________

Native English speaker just trying to help people who post using proper English.

[Rexa411]

My English is poor. I am strongly agree with using proper English on writing.People do not understand me well in English speaking because of pronunciations problem.---That is another issue--- I am a reader on this forum because there are so many things I found them very useful. It's very helpful.

Thank you for all contributors.

[knok]

Thank you for your comment and support. We are really concerned about the textese's widespread. Not using capitals are considered the textese as well. It may take seconds for you to press the shift key when you type. If you don't want to press the shift key, you can type in MS Word first and post.

 

I will try to clear up messages with the textese. If you want me to help you in answering your questions, please use Standard English when you post. This will increase productivity in the forum. We are all educated here. I hope that you understand.

 

I will not give an infraction to those who have limited knowledge of grammar or spelling. However, using capital letters at the beginning of sentences, not using excessive abbreviation such as, u, ur, thx, and intentionally leaving out too many punctuations such as (.), (?), ('), (i m) are considered the textese. We all studied basic grammar rules about capital letters, punctuations, and correct spelling of you, your, thanks, and some easy words since our elementary school. Any message contains such textese will be given infraction.

 

For example, if you post "ca' instead of "CA", it may be interpreted as Ca++ or California. We want to prevent confusion. Another example is that if you type, "ph" instead of "pH", it will cause confusion as well. In the future, we have to deal with life threatening issues so it is better to communicate and give information as clearly as possible. Therefore, please use Standard English. Every one studied Standard English.

 

In addition, English language is the only medium used in our communication. We rely on your typing. Please try to post proper English so that others can understand your posts and help to answer your questions.

[knok]

After we are trying very hard to make the posts easier to read. Punctuation, abbreviation, and capital letters are our concerns related to the textese. We all are pharmacists and we don't want this to happen. Please read.

 

1. FDA Safety Page:

 

Stemming Drug Errors from Abbreviations.

 

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/MedErrors/nameAbbreviations.pdf

 

2. Link to Punctuation:

 

Punctuation handout.html

 

Comma (punctuation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

Punctuation - Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia

 

3. Abbreviation:

 

Abbreviations

 

Abbreviations

 

4. Capital Letters:

 

Capital Letters.

 

Capital Letters - Examples

 

We don't want any of you to mess up your English here. I hope that we all benefit from these links.

[srinivasulu]

hai

now we r in exam mood, u have to encourage us for exam. we are sending some threads , in that u want proper english. Right now u want correct english how its possible. You are not conducting the toefl or ielts exam.

this forum is helpful to pass the fpgee exam only . if u have that much interst proper enghlish make it correct the threads which we r going to send. Due to u r correct english we are unable to give the threads to questions.

be positive , think about others . Only english is not a great thing .

[Erin]

We don't expect perfect English, but we do request that posters avoid such words as:

• u instead of you
  
• ur instead of your or you're
  
• gr8 instead of great
  
• wot instead of what

etc.

 

If you have questions about these rules, please feel free to post them in the feedback forum. :)

[knok]

You can rest assured that moderators look at many posts and take any appropriate action needed. You can also be certain that moderators will not penalise a member with limited knowledge of English who makes a genuine mistake in using the language; TestMagic Forums are not exams, they exist to help people improve their English.

 

That aim of the forums is why Textese is disliked - it can confuse people with limited command of English and hinder their attempts to improve. Deliberately using expressions like plz, u, r, coz, wat, 4 and so on does not help people who have come here to learn to improve their English, indeed it can actively mislead them. Failure to use capitals is not only bad English, it makes text less easy to read and understand. Apart from presenting problems to readers use of Textese may also get the writer into bad habits.

 

I think that the problem is partly due to the recent growth of texting on phones. People carry the conventions they use there, where they are usually communicating only with those they know, over to public boards where their post may be read by hundreds or even thousands of others throughout the world. I also notice that many, though admittedly not all, posts that use Textese appear to have been rattled off quickly with little thought given to the actual content. That may be appropriate for an internet chatroom but I believe TestMagic deserves greater care and respect.

 

Michael

[knok]

Textese categories:

 

u, ur, i, hai, thx, thanx, gr8, coz, im, i m, pls ----> Textese

 

You, your, I, Hi, Thanks, Great, Because, I'm, Please------>correct English.

 

If you do not start sentences with capital letters-----> Textese

 

(.) must be at the end of a sentence.

 

(?) must be at the end of a question.

 

(') must be in didn't, don't, won't, or where needed.

 

Please use only one (,), (!), or (?). Do not use (???), (!!!!), or (,,,).

 

Using multiple punctuations also is considered to be the textese.

 

Title of your posts should be capitalized.

 

Otherwise, your posts will be edited and an infraction will be given.

 

If you want this forum to serve you, please make the forum easy to read.

 

Thank you very much.

[knok]

Just a reminder!

[aabdraff57]

Hi everyone,

 

I think it's great that we promote proper written English in this forum. I, however, am not sure how to curb the usage of unconventional abbreviations but I personally believe that those of us who are willing to spend hours revising for the FPGEE could afford the time to correctly spell AND use full words. They look better too. :-)

 

Thanks!

[knok]

Thank you for your message. Most importantly, it helps candidates with writing section of TOEFL iBT. It develops good habits in writing skills.

[aabdraff57]

Hi,

 

I just had to think aloud. I truly believe that the 2-year limit on TOEFL score reporting is a bit ridiculous. Can I infer that a candidate's ability to speak, write, AND understand spoken English DETERIORATES after two years? Sorry if this is off-topic.