Correct grammar is essential in writing. The reader's confidence and the credibility of writers and editors will be quickly destroyed by grammatical errors and misspelled words. Language may change with the times, but grammar is still the guide for combining words correctly to express thought. Writers, therefore, should always distinguish between the colloquial form and the simple grammatical sentence free from worn phrases and jargon.

The following notes are not comprehensive: they are intended merely to draw attention to the basic rules and common pitfalls.