Here’s where I’d like you to play around with breaking the rules, according to the readings we did for class and the models we looked at together. I’ve included my example, the labyrinthine (or run-on) sentence here, and I’d like you to play around with any of these techniques (listed here or that we discussed Read More
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Analyzing Puncutation
I’ve seen this article from Adam J Calhoun on Medium (a great, long-form blogging platform with some potential for providing classroom texts, by the way) linked quite a bit lately on Facebook and other places, so I thought I’d share it with all of you. Here’s the author’s initial question that drives what he finds about Read More
Thoughts on “bad” words
Related to the work we’ve done in class about grammar and power, slang terms, and words that have dangerous power, I came across this brief essay about profanity written by a newspaper columnist. After she extolls the scientifically proven virtues of swearing (including research that shows that cursing can help us manage pain), she closes by Read More
What about prescriptivists?
One student in class this semester has brought up an issue that’s well worth further discussion. Let me quote part of this communication: I … receive grades from prescriptivist professors, ones who mark “relatable” as being not a word and therefore not appropriate for a paper. Even though I feel solid about the choices I make Read More
On errors and usage, from the teacher’s seat
As we discuss errors and usage each semester, you get to hear a certain perspective from me and from the readings I choose to have you peruse. That perspective is presented honestly, I hope you’ll agree, but it is a bit removed from real teachers in real classrooms. And sometimes I worry that you leave Read More
Revision at the Paragraph Level (Fall 2015)
We’ve talked a lot about revising at the sentence-level as we’ve explored techniques like sentence comparison from Ed Schuster. Now I want you to see how we might take this to the level of paragraphs. Below I’ve included a grammatically correct but rather stylistically mediocre paragraph (it’s actually taken from an old Warriner grammar book Read More
Breaking the Rules (Fall 2015)
Here’s where I’d like you to play around with breaking the rules, according to the readings we did for class and the models we looked at together. I’ve included my example, the labyrinthine (or run-on) sentence here, and I’d like you to play around with any of these techniques (listed here or that we discussed Read More
I Could Care Less and Grammar Vigilantism
In honor of the grammar rants you’re currently writing, I thought you might enjoy this comic from xkcd: As you’ve been reviewing rants, I’m sure you’ve come across the attitude of those who see it as a duty to correct those who mis-speak or mis-write. As well-intentioned as some of these people might be, Read More
How Much Does A Word (or Name) Really Matter?
When we analyze mentor texts as closely as we do in this course, it can sometimes seem like we’re really squeezing that proverbial turnip. Getting hung up on a single word or a turn of phrase might seem at times like a trivial pursuit or of questionable value. None of you, of course, feel that Read More
New Understandings about Errors and Typing
It’s fun for many of us to poke fun at or ridicule some of the errors we encounter, and online media seem to offer an abundance of opportunities to spot these mistakes and look down our noses at the authors. From misspelled words in online comments to errors in tweets, there’s no end of hilarity, Read More