MCC Daily Tribune

The Composition Cemetery... Myths About Composition Debunked

Myth #2: Grammar is the most important thing needed when writing.

                Yes, grammar and punctuation, spelling, and sentence construction are important; they have the power to convey clarity. Strictly speaking, in terms of a given audience for a writing task, correctness plays a role. Yet writing is not a monolith and there is not one ideal. Form expectations shift depending on genre, audience, and function, and this can create some controversy.

                Therefore, no. According to experts who study writing and rhetoric, grammar is not everything. For those who closely examine the art of written expression and speaking since Aristotle, grammar is not as central as insight or evidence or purpose or audience. The trick is in how to manage written expression in all its parts carefully enough so as not to squash the whole.

                In our aim to help all our students engage with learning and grow their critical thinking, how do we navigate this? While correctness may be a goal, can overcorrection hurt? How much help is a focus on the outward appearance, if we are not in tune with the inner possibilities? If correctness is the most important thing in a writing task, what happens to a writer’s voice?

                Say we focus on correctness as central and teach it with drills. Might that result in better writing? In fact, according to research studies, rote memorization and drills don’t actually result in better writing. Studies show that “students do not naturally transfer grammatical rules and patterns learning through worksheet drills into their own writing (Harris & Rowan, 1989; Hillocks, 1986).” To truly gain strides in mastering the art of grammar, there is huge value in spending time reading and writing to master the principles of writing. Which brings back to the complexity of the task and stages that need reinforcement for any growth to occur.

                How might we maintain agency for our students as writers so that correctness doesn’t lead to a shift away from meaning-making? In fact, as all thinkers engage more deeply with written expression, the process of writing gets messier. In that mess, we find complexity and can shape it with just the right amount of correctness that suits its purpose.             

                To aim at perfecting grammatical correctness is a goal worth pursing, but to what ends and by what means? If we allow for mistakes and carve space for messiness in writing, how might we open doors not previously open for all our students? David Brooks reminds us that “If you write in a way that suggests combative certitude, you may gradually smother the inner chaos that will be the source of lifelong freshness and creativity.”

Want to engage further? Check out this website for contextualized grammar instruction methods: https://www.collegetransition.org/career-pathways/research-briefs/contextualized-grammar/

Interested in all things composition? Check out our newsletter, Comp Notes for late fall 2021.

Attached Files:
Comp Notes Late Fall Nov 2021.pdf

Angelique Johnston
English/Philosophy
11/18/2021