Thirty years ago, Sir Michael Dummett, who had just retired as the eminent professor of logic at Oxford University, felt the need to write a book that would help students answer their questions. Not the content of their answers, just how to express themselves. Sir Michael was worried because a survey had shown that nearly half of university vice-chancellors were so concerned about their students’ literacy, they had decided to introduce special lessons to help them express themselves more clearly. These, remember, were supposed to be the brightest and best young people our country has to offer. Today’s vice-chancellors and professors are worried about the same thing, but their response has been rather different. It has been: if you can’t spell or use punctuation accurately or write basic, simple, reasonably grammatical English, don’t worry about it. You won’t lose any marks in your exams because tutors are being told to adopt a policy called ‘inclusive assessments’.