42 A Positive Approach to Good Grammar
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A Positive Approach to Good Grammar
Alison V. Kuehner
Ohlone College
Correct grammar is important for precise, accurate, academic prose,
but the traditional skills-based approach to teaching grammar is
not effective if the goal is good writing. The sentence-combining ap-
proach shows promise. However, sentence modeling is more like-
ly to produce strong writing and enhance reading comprehension.
Through sentence modeling and understanding how punctuation
makes meaning, developmental writers can employ sophisticated
sentences, use punctuation effectively, and follow the conventions of
standard English with minimal grammar instruction. Students ana-
lyze how and why authors make certain moves in their writing, then
produce similar effects in their own writing. Inspired by Constance
Weaver’s approach to grammar that is “positive, productive, and
practical” and by Rei Noguchi’s emphasis on minimal grammatical
terminology, this method makes for engaged instruction and reten-
tion of skills.
A former colleague, a now-retired history professor,
hosted a website to assist students with their exams. On
this site, he posted lists of terms, possible essay topics,
and, to the amusement of many of his colleagues, students’
faux pas to test questions. One student’s answer has stuck
with me: in response to the question, “Who is Bob Dole?”,
the student wrote “He is the senate.” For those who rec-
ognized the dour Dole as the Senate Republican majority
leader, this was a chuckle moment, an almost satirically
appropriate answer. However, history professor was hold-
ing up this student’s answer as an example of what not to
write. But, I thought, perhaps the student knew Bob Dole
was a United States Senator and the student’s unfortunate-
ly poor grammar had generated an incorrect answer. If
only he had written, “He is a senator,” the student might
have received credit rather than ridicule. I wonder: was the
student’s incorrect answer due to lack of knowledge or to
lack of good grammar?
Of course, I don’t know the answer, but I do know that
grammar matters. It matters especially in the academic
arena in which precision and accuracy are requisite for
clear writing. It matters because no one wants to say the
wrong thing (particularly inadvertently). As I jokingly
tell my students, good grammar is the difference between
“feeling you’re nuts” and “feeling your nuts,” between hav-
ing what you say be taken seriously or not. Clear writing
allows readers to focus on the content of the message, and
not be confused by the message itself.
What is the Role of Grammar
Instruction in the Writing Classroom?
By grammar, I mean writing at the sentence level. I
agree with Rei Noguchi’s (1991) denition that “within
traditional grammar, . . . the term . . . mean[s] the set of
categories, functions, and rules . . . that teachers common-
ly employ to describe a sentence and its parts” (p. 2). In
other words, grammar is not concerned with organiza-
tion of ideas nor with paragraph development, but rather
with clear, correct sentences. I also appreciate Constance
Weaver’s (2008) emphasis that grammar involves more
than knowing the rules; it is knowing how to use language
effectively: “The grammar of a language is its structure,
which enables us to communicate whether or not we or
anybody else consciously understands that structure” (p.
1). As Weaver’s words suggest, it is not the goal of gram-
mar instruction to turn students into grammarians, but
rather to enable students to communicate effectively, to
produce compelling writing. Students should have gram-
mar knowledge on a need to know basis—what do they
need to know to make their writing interesting and engag-
ing? What do they need to know to deliver a clear mes-
sage or to produce a desired effect? Grammar instruction
should not be overly preoccupied with error correction;
rather it should be concerned with editing and producing
skillful writing. In short, grammar knowledge should help
writers write well.
Different approaches to teaching grammar in the writ-
ing classroom have proven more—or less—effective. First
I will review the traditional approach to teaching grammar
(the skills-based approach) as well as a more recent strate-
gy (sentence combining) and consider what research says
about the effectiveness of these approaches for improving
writing. Then I examine an alternative approach: sentence
modeling.
Skills-Based Approach to
Teaching Grammar
In a skills-based approach to grammar, students are
taught grammatical terms and rules. For instance, students
are asked to identify parts of speech (i.e., noun or verb),
sentence types (i.e., simple, compound, complex), sentence
parts (i.e., phrase or clause). Students might be trained to
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spot and correct sentence errors (such as run-on sentences
or sentence fragments) in sample sentences or paragraphs.
The thinking behind a skills-based approach is that
teaching grammar and mechanics will enable students to
understand how language works, to write more effectively
and correctly, and to reduce the number of errors in their
own writing. The belief is that explicit teaching of gram-
mar rules helps students identify errors and correct these,
or avoid errors in the rst place. Moreover, knowing gram-
matical terms provides a common language for teachers
and their students to discuss sentences and errors so as to
improve the quality of writing.
What Research Says About a
Skills-based Approach
Despite the “logic” behind it, a skills-based approach
to grammar instruction is not supported by research.
Since the 1960’s, researchers have acknowledged that
“Study after study . . . conrms that instruction in formal
grammar has little or no effect on the quality of student
composition” (Braddock, Lloyd-Jones, & Schoer, 1963, p.
37). Hillocks (1986) in his review of research in written
composition done from 1963 to 1982 draws an even stron-
ger conclusion:
School boards, administrators, and teachers who
impose the systematic study of traditional grammar
on their students over lengthy periods of time in the
name of teaching writing do them a gross disservice
which should not be tolerated by anyone concerned
with the effective teaching of good writing. (p. 248)
Moreover, research shows that students do not enjoy
this type of grammar instruction. In Hillocks’ 1971 sur-
vey of over 3,000 high-school students’ attitudes toward
English, he found that traditional grammar was “the least
interesting part of their English programs”; students called
grammar instruction “‘useless,’ ‘unimaginative,’ ‘repeti-
tive,’ ‘passive,’ ‘complicated,’ and ‘unpleasant’” (cited in
Hillocks & Smith, 1991, p. 596).
Hillocks and Smith’s recommendation about tradition-
al grammar instruction make sense: “. . . the grammar
sections of a textbook should be treated as a reference
tool that might provide some insight into conventions of
mechanics and usages. It should not be treated as a course
of study to improve the quality of writing” (1991, p. 600).
Sentence Combining Approach
to Teaching Grammar
As an alternative to traditional grammar instruction, a
sentence combining approach shows students how to com-
bine sets of sentences into increasingly complex structures.
The thinking behind this strategy is that by manipulating
sentences students will learn to create sophisticated and
varied sentences. In this way, sentence combining incorpo-
rates grammar instruction organically.
What Research Says About a Sentence Combining
Research on sentence combining is promising. Cooper
(1975), writing about sentence combining, concludes that
“‘no other single teaching approach has ever consistently
been shown to have a benecial effect on syntactic ma-
turity and writing quality’ (p. 72)” (cited in Hillocks and
Smith, 1991, p. 598). This benecial effect makes sense
since sentence-combining encourages students to write
more sentences and to generate increasingly more complex
sentences.
However, it is not clear whether sentence combining re-
duces students’ errors in writing, especially since “exper-
imenting with more complex sentence structures, errors
are bound to result” (Hillocks and Smith, 1991, p. 600).
Further, it’s not clear if sentence combining increases
student’s reading comprehension:
Kerek, Daiker, and Morenberg (1980, p. 1072) state
that ‘after 10 years of prolic research and in spite of
some promising results, Mellon’s earlier remark that
sentence combining practice ‘may contribute to the
development of reading ability’ still remains more
a reasonable possibility than an unassailable fact.’
(1969, p. 75 as cited in Hillocks and Smith, 1991, p.
600)
So while a sentence-combining approach is effec-
tive—and certainly more effective than traditional
grammar instruction—a third approach, sentence mod-
eling, is also promising and may be more effective, intu-
itive, and sustainable than either traditional grammar or
sentence-combining.
Modeling Approach to Teaching Grammar
A modeling approach to grammar operates on a posi-
tive example paradigm: modeling what students should or
could do in their writing. By examining examples from
professional readings or student writing, students under-
stand effective sentence patterns and punctuation usage
that skillful writers employ. Providing useful exam-
ples—sentences budding academic writers can use in their
own prose—encourages students to expand their writing
repertoire.
Sentence modeling is grounded in the idea that “gram-
mar” is about making meaning: if the goal of writing is
to communicate ideas to readers, students must examine
effective grammar and usage in the context of writing.
Understanding the strategic use of syntax and punctuation
can help writers emphasize or de-emphasize ideas, con-
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form to the expectations of academic writing, and effec-
tively communicate their ideas to their intended audience.
Moreover, understanding how, why, and when writers use
certain sentence patterns or punctuation marks can enable
students to become better readers.
How Sentence Modeling Works
Teachers can follow a step-by-step process to enable
students to create effective sentences through modeling:
1. Identify a sentence type useful to students: because
it is a common move in academic writing; because
students do not have that sentence pattern in their
repertoire; because it will improve students’ abilities
to effectively express their ideas; or because they
are using that sentence type incorrectly in their own
writing.
2. Find examples of that sentence type in the course
readings or in student writing.
3. Analyze why the writer uses that sentence type—to
what end or to what effect.
4. Examine how the sentence functions—as a sentence
itself and as a sentence in the larger context of the
reading.
5. Have students imitate and practice the sentence type
in a way they might use in their own writing.
6. Evaluate students’ attempts to model sentences,
encourage appropriate usage, and praise students for
using target sentences in their writing.
The following is an explanation of how this process
might play out in the classroom. A common move in ac-
ademic writing is the appositive, a sentence type perhaps
unfamiliar to novice writers. From the course readings (in
a developmental reading-writing class, students read about
Walter Mischel’s intriguing experiment, “The Marshmal-
low Test”) several examples of appositives can be found.
Here is one:
More than 40 years ago, Walter Mischel, PhD, a
psychologist now at Columbia University, explored
self-control in children with a simple but effective
test. (American Psychological Association)
This sentence can be highlighted in the reading, the
appositive underlined. Then students can examine the
logic behind this sentence pattern: Why did the author in-
clude the underlined information about this person in this
sentence? What’s the purpose of this information? How
did the writer include the information? That is, how does it
t (grammatically) into the sentence? When did the writer
include this information in the reading? How often did the
writer include information like this? Once students under-
stand the grammatical and rhetorical nature of the appos-
itive, they can apply this sentence pattern in their own
writing. Students may be prompted to reect: Why might
you, as a writer, include similar information when you
write your essay about the Marshmallow test readings?
How would you do that? They can then be required to
write sentences using appositives about the Marshmallow
test, sentences they may incorporate into their upcoming
essays. In this way, students both understand better the
reading (why an appositive is used at the rst mention of
Walter Mischel) and develop a sophisticated sentence type
they can employ immediately in their own writing.
This same modeling approach can be used to help stu-
dents understand the grammar of punctuation. Instructors
can identify punctuation that students are using incor-
rectly in their writing (such as commas), or that they are
not using at all (maybe colons or semicolons). Examples
of that punctuation can be located in the class readings
and then analyzed to understand why the writer uses that
punctuation and how the sentence functions. Students can
be prompted to emulate and practice writing sentences
using that punctuation in a way they might in their papers.
Students can work in pairs or in groups, share their sen-
tences, then display sentences on the board—which can be
reviewed by the teacher and/or the class, and corrected or
revised, if need be. Students can gain further practice with
short homework assignments.
What Experts Say About Sentence Modeling
Although there is not a signicant body of research on a
modeling approach to teaching grammar, there is support
from professional organizations and experts. For instance,
the NCTE’s position statement (2002) endorses modeling
because it integrates reading, writing, and grammar:
Another approach is for students to imitate model sen-
tences; when students read a model passage and then write
their version of it, imitating its grammatical features, they
integrate reading skill, writing practice, and grammatical
understanding. Moreover, Joseph M. Williams (1989) in
his classic book Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace
argues that modeling is a rst and logical step in helping
novice college writers develop skills: “Copy and imitation,
time-honored ways of teaching writing, will help the less
advanced students feel the rhythm and movement that a
long but clear sentence demands (Preface).”
How Sentence Modeling Can Aid
Reading Comprehension
Intuitively, it makes sense that sentence and punctu-
ation modeling can aid reading comprehension. If stu-
dents understand how sentences are put together and how
punctuation creates meaning, if they can replicate those
patterns and effects in their own writing, they are develop-
ing a strong understanding of the logic of the language.
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Sentence or punctuation modeling can be employed
intentionally to aid reading comprehension. For instance,
students could focus on a challenging aspect of an author’s
writing style, then analyze the author’s style: how sentenc-
es are shaped and why, or how punctuation is employed.
When students are required to imitate the author’s style,
they get a feel for the writing, they understand (conscious-
ly or not) how the language works.
Case in point: When students in an advanced compo-
sition course were asked to analyze Jared Diamond’s use
of extremely long sentences that include parallelism and
parentheses, they were able to successfully imitate Dia-
mond’s style and write a thoughtful answer to a discus-
sion question. In the process, students demonstrated their
understanding not only of the reading but of parallelism,
parentheses, and semicolons. Here is one student group’s
answer to a question requiring that students understand
Diamond’s explanation for the collapse of Norse Green-
land’s society:
Diamond explains that the collapse of Norse society
in Greenland fullls his ve point framework be-
cause the Norse inadvertently inicted irreparable
damage on their environment and depleted the natu-
ral resources (by cutting trees, stripping turf, over-
grazing the land, and causing soil erosion); they lived
through a period of climate change (from relatively
mild when they rst arrived to a cold period during
which they perished); their trade with Norway de-
clined (so they were deprived of essential goods, such
as iron and timber); their encounters with hostile
neighbors weakened their population (the Inuit killed
several Norse settlers); and their own inability to
adapt to the changes in their environment (the Norse
stubbornly raised cows rather than sh, and imported
luxury goods for the church rather than items essen-
tial to survival) led to their demise.
By closely analyzing and understanding a writer’s par-
ticular style and being able to reproduce that style, these
students have demonstrated a sophisticated understanding
of grammar as well as a strong grasp of the text.
Advantages and Disadvantages
of the Modeling Approach
An advantage of sentence or punctuation modeling is
exibility. The types of sentences or pieces of punctuation
to emphasize can be modied to t the course readings and
students’ own writing needs. Moreover, modeling integrates
reading and writing in an authentic way: analysis and imi-
tation of writing enables students to comprehend how style
supports content. Better yet, minimal grammar instruction
is needed as students get a “feel” for the language, rather
than learn grammar terms. Less time spent on terms means
more efcient lessons and more time spent on writing. And
sentence modeling or punctuation practice benets most
students as they generate original sentences they can use
in their essays. Modeling also creates opportunities to
reread the text: students see the author’s writing again as
they use it for models for their own writing. Furthermore,
modeling helps students edit their writing. Since students
learn to carefully examine sentences and punctuation, both
in professional writing and in their own writing, they can
apply this same scrutiny to their own nal drafts. Finally,
modeling is a positive, rather than punitive approach: The
focus is on improving writing and developing skills, with a
de-emphasis on error correction.
However, there are potential disadvantages to sentence
modeling. Modeling is not systematic: sentence or punc-
tuation activities may not progress in a logical order. This
approach may be more time intensive, as instructors must
create sentence and punctuation lessons from the class texts.
These texts may not provide enough examples for practice,
as some students need to see many sample sentences or
many examples of punctuation and practice often before
they master the skill. Moreover, examples from readings
may be complicated or messy; course readings may not
always provide clear models for beginning writers.
To address these challenges, instructors can plan
a logical progression of sentence lessons, for instance,
beginning with simple sentences, then adding introduc-
tory phrases and appositives, and moving toward more
sophisticated sentence types, such as parallel structure
or quote integration. Once lessons are created, it is easy
to substitute examples from various readings, or to skip
lessons students will not benet from. Sentences from pro-
fessional writers can be shortened or edited to avoid overly
complex examples and to highlight key sentence elements.
Moreover, instructors can generate additional examples to
demonstrate how sentence patterns can be used in stu-
dents’ own writing.
Conclusion
Constance Weaver, in her book Grammar to Enrich
and Enhance Writing, makes a strong case for grammar
instruction that is “positive, productive, and practical”
(Preface), instruction that enables students to see new
ways to write and good reasons to write well. Sentence
and punctuation modeling can be a positive, productive,
and practical approach to grammar instruction. Students
benet from examining texts for effective language use;
they practice and play with language; they hone their new
reading and writing skills while composing essays for
their English classes. These skills, of close reading and
careful writing, can be carried with students beyond the
English classroom.
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References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.) Delaying gratica-
tion. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/will-
power-gratication.pdf
Braddock, R., Lloyd-Jones, R., & Schoer, L. (1963). Research
in written composition. Champaign, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English.
Hillocks, G., Jr. (1986). Research on written composition: New
directions in teaching. Urbana, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English.
Hillocks, G., Jr., & Smith, M. W. (1991). Grammar and usage. In
J. Flood, J. M. Jensen, D. Lapp, & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Hand-
book of research on teaching the English language arts (pp.
591-603). New York: Macmillan.
National Council of Teachers of English. (2002). Some ques-
tions and answers about grammar. Retrieved from http://
www.ncte.org/positions/statements/qandaaboutgrammar
Noguchi, R. (1991). Grammar and the teaching of writing:
Limits and possibilities. Urbana, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English.
Weaver, C. (2008). Grammar to enrich and enhance writing.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Williams, J. M. (1989). Style: Ten lessons in clarity and grace.
New York: Harper Collins.
Alison Kuehner is professor of English at Ohlone College
in Fremont, California.
