This study attempted to determine the effects of two grading foci, emphasis on content vs. emphasis on grammar, on the reliability and level of grades awarded to English composition themes and the effects of annotation vs. no annotation on the reliability and level of grades awarded. (Author/RK)

These instructional objectives have been selected from materials submitted to the Curriculum Laboratory of the Graduate School of Education at UCLA by Donald M. Desfor. Arranged by major course goals, these objectives are offered simply as samples that may be used where they correspond to the skills, abilities, and attitudes instructors want their…

Presents a theory of teaching basic English grammar in freshmen composition courses as a means of teaching students how to write coherent sentences and comprehend English syntax. (TO)

Assumes there is no good writing--only good rewriting--teachers should improve writing performance by showing students how to move subjects around to achieve varying emphases. (RB)

Explores the demands placed on a would-be critical teacher by the discourses of critical pedagogy. Explores the script of critical pedagogy by engaging the literature of critical pedagogy and by offering a kind of narrative kaleidoscope. Questions the use of critical pedagogy in educating students for proper use of grammar. (SC)

Incorporating creative play in the writing lab or classroom is a unique way to pique students' interest and boost their imagination. Exercises varying from describing Hershey's Kisses®, to using tape recorders for discussing voice, to using magnetic poetry to practice grammar are all ways that stimulate learning through the lens of play. Play…

Numerous studies have investigated the linguistic expression of stance and evaluation in university registers, focusing especially on academic research writing and to a lesser extent classroom teaching. The present study extends previous research in two ways: (1) it compares and contrasts the use of a wide range of lexico-grammatical features used…

The humanities department of the community college where the author teaches has a long-standing policy regarding the demand for sentence-structure correctness in all the composition courses that they provide. That policy holds students accountable for total control over the rules that govern sentence structure. Any student paragraph or essay that…

The current study examined 24 Japanese university students' processes of negotiation in conditions of self revision and of peer revision about their English as a foreign language (EFL) writing. Analyzing their negotiation episodes and text changes, I categorized within a common coding scheme the types of negotiation from (a) think-aloud protocols…

Good writing is good sentences. It is a simple truth that many in the business of teaching writing have strayed from. Good writing is a first sentence that makes a reader want to read the second sentence, a second sentence that makes a reader want to read the third, and so on. Erika Lindemann suggests that certain types of sentence instruction can…

In his 1976 article, "Grammars of Style: New Options in Composition," Winston Weathers calls for a Grammar B, an alternate set of conventions which govern the construction of whole compositions. He urges compositionists to look beyond the "well-made box" and consider other options for compositional patterns and discourse…

This article focuses on the development of the English curriculum, changes that have occurred over the years, and possible future trends in English education. (RC)

This handbook of English is divided into three major sections. In the first section, "The Expression and Communication of Thought," chapter one considers the task of writing, including different kinds of essays, style, and the use of standard English. The second chapter is devoted to the process of planning and writing and examines problems of…

Teaching composition as involving merely syntax and paragraph structure has no clear relation to an education in the liberal arts or to significant growth in understanding. Work in mechanics needs to be subordinated to the communicative and logological (how words act rather than their content) functions of language. One hopeful approach to…

NINETY TELECAST OUTLINES ARE INCLUDED. THE CLASS WAS BROADCASTED FIVE MORNINGS A WEEK FOR 18 WEEKS. THE TELECAST BEGAN WITH THE ROMANTIC PERIOD, INCLUDING ROBERT BURNS, ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, THE LAKE POETS, SIR WALTER SCOTT, LAMB, HAZLITT, LORD BYRON, P.B. SHELLEY, JOHN KEATS, AND JANE AUSTEN. LESSONS ON GRAMMAR, SPELLING, AND THE FIRST…