Blog Post #4: Dominic Lopez

 




        This week, I had the following thoughts about the following topics brought up in the readings: 

 

  • 1.)  In chapter five, on page 85, Lindemann concludes that students will not fare better with language use and issues with grammar in their writing if we as teachers focus on teaching them all of the rules of grammar usage. Instead, we should learn all that we can about grammar and apply it to their writing when reading their writing as a part of the revision process. This is something that really surprised me because it doesn’t seem to make sense that students can get better with using grammar in their sentences without knowing how grammar works or being aware of grammar rules while writing. However, I can also see how it would do them more harm to try to teach them the more complex rules of grammar because even as an English major these rules can be difficult to understand and remember. It seems that Lindeman is suggesting that students will unconsciously understand how to use grammar correctly the more we instill in them suggestions for improving aspects of their writing such as their sentence construction. The more that they write frequently, the more that their writing will naturally improve which includes correct grammar usage. 



  • 2.)  I found the point made by Lindemann in chapter ten on page 164 to be very useful for teaching students how to write better sentences. She points out that the most important information in a sentence is at the beginning and end of the sentence, while the least important information should be in the middle of the sentence. The beginning establishes the main subjects and may contain transitional information from the previous sentences, while the last part of the sentence usually emphasizes new information. If we teach students these aspects of sentences, they can make their sentences flow more and make more sense in telling the reader what they are trying to focus on. This will prevent them from writing sentences that seem to go on tangents and will make their ideas more concise and clearer for the reader.   



  • 3.)  Another technique for improving student sentences that I liked is found in chapter ten on page 168-169. Lindemann advises teachers that sometimes students need to decombine sentences that have too many ideas crammed into them that they get obscured or that have convoluted syntax. Being disassembled into simple sentences allows for students to see what ideas and subjects need to be focused on and how the sentences can be better combined to have better syntax. The problem is often students try too hard to sound more complex as a writer that they write sentences that are too long that they end up not flowing well or making sense. I liked this because I’ve struggled with this in the past but have been trying to get better at breaking a part sentences into separate sentences or recombining them in different ways as a means of making them sound better. 



  • 4.)   I think it’s interesting to have students come to appreciate the way they use their language of English and to see how meaningful using language in writing can be. When we let students write in their own style and word choice and do not try to correct the way they write first, students come to enjoy the impact of using words in writing and become better at using them. (Lindemann 187-188).  

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