I often focus my exams and evaluations on content application not rote memorization of terms or concepts. In order to demonstrate that they have understood the concepts I have covered I ask questions related to the material and ask my students to relate it to their own experiences or career goals. This works as an excellent way for me to get to know my students aspirations more personally so I can better tailor the educational experience for them. However, I am finding it difficult to find a balance between grading for content of the essays and being distracted by lack of grammar, spelling, and basic sentence structure. I started the term more lenient and have become increasingly more nit-picky about the aforementioned things. My problem, I am finding, is convincing my students that knowing how to structure an essay or even write a coherent sentence is important to their future careers, which are mostly hands-on trades. Any suggestions?