Investigates the differences in syntactical structure of sentences written by school children of different ages and of different abilities within the same grade. Writing of certain adults is also studied. (MH)

A curriculum guide to help students improve their everyday English skills has been designed for the Dade County Public Schools. The course, for grades 8 through 12, is to help students learn to read, write, and interpret letters, business forms, instructions, signs, maps, and magazines. The practical subject matter emphasizes basic reading and…

Author describes tutorial program she established at American River College in her Basic Writing Skills class. The specific approach, the course description, and the grading system are discussed. (DR)

Presents a functional grammatical analysis of the writing that 128 seventh- and eighth-grade students produced in response to their science teacher's directive to describe a picture. Identifies the register elements of the task and the grammatical difficulties it posed for students. Shows that teachers can help students use grammatical resources…

This study investigated the pattern of growth in syntactic fluency of college-preparatory students in grades 7-12. Its primary purpose was to examine the syntactic structures employed in samples of narrative writing by the 12 different groups (totaling 216 students) that comprised the study sample. A secondary purpose was to determine which of…

Students can improve their writing skills by studying grammar. In learning to apply a logical system in their analysis of sentence parts, for example, students develop mental discipline. This discipline can be strengthened through the grammatical analysis of their own papers. In these evaluations, which include error and stylistic analyses and a…

Examines the negative consequences of using pedagogical grammars of English dominated by theoretical models which affect English as a second language composition. Limitations of these "models" include: lack of broad vocabulary, semantically "empty" verbs, and an emphasis on the use of awkward grammatical structures, which are regarded as more…

This paper discusses error analysis, which is based upon the premise that all language, even "incorrect" language, is governed by rules, and the application of such analysis to the comma splice and the fused sentence. Many students formulate erroneous theories of punctuation based on spoken-language experience or on misleading definitions; in…

Examines research dealing with methods of teaching punctuation that go as far back as 1900. Believes findings explain why English teachers are not in agreement on any one specific method of teaching this skill. (RB)

Paragraphs, as well as sentences, can be spoken of as having a deep and a surface structure. The amount of deep structure of the paragraph that is mapped onto the surface paragraph is related to the mode of discourse in which the paragraph is found: the deep structure in scientific paragraphs is relatively uncomplicated with few assumptions made;…

Argues that parents can help their children take more pleasure in writing and thus build their confidence and competence in mastering composition skills. Describes the Parents-as-Tutors Program and some of its methods, which include teaching the student to edit message, punctuation, and spelling. (AEW)

Since clauses are the largest functional components of a sentence, their analysis can increase attention to sentence structure and stylistic variation. Students can learn to distinguish main clause types by naming the verb forms used (transitive, intransitive, equational, and passive). Once students have mastered the recognition of main clauses,…

THE DESCRIPTIVE SCIENCE OF LINGUISTICS AND THE SKILL OF WRITTEN COMPOSITION MEET IN THE "SENTENCE," AND THE INFORMATION WHICH LINGUISTICS PROVIDES ON SENTENCE STRUCTURE CAN AID THE TEACHER OF COMPOSITION. ALTHOUGH TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR DOES NOT IMPROVE A STUDENT'S WRITING, CONSTITUENT GRAMMAR AND TRANSFORMATIONAL GRAMMAR, BY PRESENTING METHODS OF…