Dumbing down universities will spell bad news

In response to your article about universities being told that cutting marks for bad spelling and grammar is elitist, I am a ‘baby-boomer’ born and raised in a poor working-class area where schooling was quite basic and university seemed unattainable. However, there was considerable emphasis on good spelling and grammar, no matter what the subject.

Spelling tests were a weekly feature. Essays were marked on content and reasoning, and spelling and grammar.

All incorrect spelling was highlighted, in red ink, and grammatical errors were brought to the attention of the whole class so that we all benefited.

Clearly, good spelling and grammar were not the preserve of ‘elitist’ educational establishments then, so why should they be now?

Ian Stromdale,

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

This is just silly. Being able to properly communicate in writing, as well as verbally, is so important. How can someone be expected to get a decent job, let alone progress in their career, if their first job application form or CV is full of spelling mistakes?

B. Rose, Hertfordshire

Could the real difficulty be that the academics at these universities have difficulty in spotting whether the students’ grammar, spelling and punctuation are correct?

J. Turner, Essex

If students can’t spell then they shouldn’t be at university. By their very nature, universities should be elitist, a place where the brightest and best can be nurtured and excel, not be part of a great ‘levelling down’ exercise in the name of equality, where a degree in many instances is hardly worth the paper it’s printed on.

O. White, Halifax

At least this might help dyslexic students who are often incredibly bright but marked down because of their hidden disability.

M. Smith, Surrey

So what about students who want to be doctors or physicists or engineers who can’t quite master the maths or other technicalities?

Is marking them down going to be considered elitist too? Where does this kind of thing stop?

S. Clarke, Singapore

It seems we will not be satisfied until everything is dumbed down. Universities are supposed to be for the brightest minds. If people cannot spell, perhaps they shouldn’t be there.

A. Brown, Surrey

Language is constantly evolving. Emojis and textspeak are the future. This is why Shakespeare is hard to understand at times and Beowulf near impossible.

B. Rodriguez, Cheshire

I was never great at spelling but I didn’t expect universities would lower their standards to accommodate me. It was up to me to meet those standards.

T. Hill, Manchester