'No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of Henry James twice,' writes Lynne Truss in her bestselling book, Eats, Shoots And Leaves; 'If you persist in writing: 'Good food at it's best', you deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave.'

What is the point of writing the perfect brochure or website copy if your marketing message doesn't make sense, or the punctuation would get a 'fail' in the classroom? The person considering whether to do business with you simply will not take you seriously if the words, sentences and paragraphs of your website, brochure or story content is filled with schoolboy howlers. Eats Shoots and Leaves could explain a Panda's favourite menu. On the other hand it could describe what the gunslinger did, when; during a visit to his favourite cantina he found the food not to his liking.

The latest to come under fire, but not from a Colt.45 revolver, is Jim Knight, the Cambridge-educated UK Member of Parliament. His website blog, which he uses to communicate with constituents, was littered with excruciatingly bad English. The word 'received' was spelled 'receieved' and archaeological appears as archeaological. There are no excuses. The rest of his message is equally cringe-making. Jim Knight would you believe is the British Schools Minister.

Is Proper Grammar Important?

If when browsing for a product or service, potential clients are confronted and insulted by sloppy grammar it sends out a clear message: 'We are a slapdash outfit.' Would you trust them to repair your car? Would you be confident of a chiropodist who suggested you might be alergic or the problem might stem from a sports injiry? Of course all languages are in a constant state of flux and much of it, including writing style, is a matter of personal choice. However, as with the Rules of the Road, it is essential to stick to basics.

A Laughing Stock

Birmingham City Council recently became a laughing stock by removing the punctuation mark from place names such as Kings Norton, Acocks Green. These and others, like St. Paul's Square, were traditionally spelled with an apostrophe. Just how many saints named Paul were there? Ask Birmingham City Council.

They say the decision was taken for financial reasons. So how much extra does it cost to put an ' on a street name plate? They add that it was to achieve consistency across the city. Why not consistently use the correct spelling rather than the incorrect one?

Utter Chaos

John Richards, founder of the Apostrophe Protection Society says the decision was 'absolute defeatism'; it is setting a poor example. He points out that all over Birmingham, and in other cities too, teachers are trying to teach children correct grammar and punctuation. Children will go around Birmingham and see utter chaos. He adds: 'If you don't have apostrophes, is there any point in full stops, or semi-colons, or question marks? Is there any point in punctuation at all?'

Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, says: 'It is an abuse of the language to drop the apostrophe. It sets children a terrible example, especially when schools are doing their best to help improve grammatical standards.'

How can you be sure the copy content of your website or brochure copy is likely to impress your customer and add to their confidence? If you cannot imagine it on a main news website or online quality newspaper then it simply isn't good enough. ©