1. What experiences do you have as a student of English when it comes to grammar instruction? How has grammar been prioritized or perhaps not in your past grading experiences?
2. Consider the following lines from Wendy Bishop: "When we teach writing as writers, it is inevitable that we include instruction in grammar for writers, for we must examine content, structure, linguistic, and cognitive choices that form the congeries of style(s), usage(s), and grammar(s) that are available to all authors and from which professional writers constantly draw" (176). In what ways has Bishop further complicated your idea of the process of writing?
Liz,
ReplyDeleteI love your second question. I know I mentioned in class today that I hate grammar, and I really do mean HATE. Grammar has always been a weak area for me, so I have spent my life terrified of the "red pen" that has been mentioned several times this term. For me this idea actually both complicates and simplifies the idea of grammar for me. I feel like some of the unconventional choices that I have made are now looked at as style choices and thought of as ok. On the other hand, I have no idea how I will teach all those layer of grammar to my students. That will be the most complicated thing!
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ReplyDeleteHi Liz,
ReplyDeleteTo answer your first question, grammar has always been an essential component in my grading design for student papers. I find that students dealing with complex ideas in writing will usually need the grammar component as a check for clarity. Otherwise, it is very likely and natural too that the writing becomes complex. Also, I feel that good writing comes through practice, which means a practice of all the components that make up writing. The more students pay attention to the construction of sentences, the more they will be able to reach more complex and varied forms of construction in their writing. However, I am not in favor of teaching grammar out of context, but rather through the context of students' own essay, which goes to say, that although the approach to grammar is not comprehensive, it does consider it as necessary to the growth of the writer.