Good Grammar and Punctuation ARE Important

It is becoming increasingly difficult, it seems, for people to use correct grammar and properly punctuate their sentences. It is also popular to use "internet speech", an example of which might go something like this: "u 2 look gr8 2gether 4 the dance." In fact, I was listening to the radio not too long ago, and I heard that some employers are starting to complain that up to 20% of their employees can't write up to standard. So when I recently heard this humorous little story, I couldn't resist posting it. You may already have heard it, but here goes anyway.

A panda walks into a restaurant. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says, at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."