More Research

When I wrote before about grammar instruction I had some opinions about it, but was not really sure how they might be implemented to actually improve student writing. Since that time, I have come to the conclusion that formal grammar instruction of any kind is basically not helpful in developing better writing. This would include rote memorization and drill exercises as well as usage and style suggestions. The problem is that many of the definitions used in grammar research still include this "etiquette" facet of grammar. I will begin my paper with a discussion of how the definition of grammar has been misconstrued and has actually hurt students because they get no instruction whatsoever. The next major point I will explore is what type of grammar is helpful to students. I have a plethora of evidence showing that sentence combining is the answer to developing syntactic maturity and eliminating many of the errors basic writers tend to commit. I also want to emphasize that many students think they do not like "grammar" because they have been made to feel as though they will never succeed. The truth is, they already have everything they need to succeed in this field.

My research presentation will underscore this point. Sentence combining relies on the transformational grammar, which says that all of our linguistic capabilities are in place by the time we enter school. Most students run into problems when they try to translate all of this knowledge from speech to writing. The teacher's job, then, is to give students as much practice in using their own capabilities to build better sentences. When the technique is used in groups and is discussed in class, there can be significant improvement in writing complex sentences and avoiding fundamental errors. During the presentation, I will actually engage our class in sentence combining exercises.