Sentence Combining: Improving Student Writing w/o Formal Grammar Instruction, Frank O'Hare, 1971

Sentence-combining: a type of pedagogy involving extensive, sequenced practice of specially formulated print-based exercises through which a student is said to acquire dexterity in writing complex sentence structures.

Research Questions:

1. Would 7th graders who practiced a new kind of sentence combining that was in no way dependent on their formal knowledge of grammar write in a way that is syntactically different than similar students not exposed to such combining?

2. If there are syntactic differences in their writing, could these differences be characterized as differences in maturity?

3. Would the students who completed such exercises write compostiions judged better in overall quality?

4. What are the curricular implications of such findings?

Braddock (1963) declares: "the teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or, because it usually displaces some instruction and practice in actual composition, even a harmful effect on the improvement of writing" (37-38).

What is transformational grammar?

Bateman and Zidonis' study concludes that students who study transformational grammar end up writing sentences that have fewer errors and are more complex syntactically than students who do not. A significant finding.

Mellon questioned the validity of thr B-Z study because the greatest changes in the experimental group were made by only 4 students.

The Mellon Study

Mellon completed a similar study, although rather than focusing on error reduction, he examined the increase in syntactic complexity. He suggested that it was the sentence-combining practice and NOT the study of grammar that had an effect on the students' writing behaviors.

Sample - 247 white native American students, from urban, suburban and private institutions.

Experimental Group: year-long course in transformational grammar that included a large amount of sentence-combining.

Control Group: course in traditional grammar

Writing Sample: 9 compositions, during first four and and last four weeks of school. Mellon selected first 10 T-Units (principal clause and any subordinate clause or nonclausal strcuture attached or embedded in it) from each composition.

Mellon's study showed syntactic fluency improvements, but does that necessarily mean improvements in rhetorical ability?

Looping . . . Loopy . . . and the Grateful Dead

I'm not really writing about the Grateful Dead, I'm writing about potheads. I don't want to waste time trying to come up with a more politically correct term for someone who regularly gets themselves high. To me, they are potheads, although I no longer have a negative connotation for these people or this word. When I was in high school, potheads were burnouts, no-good, going nowhere. I remember Wayne and Natasha, both burnouts. Actually, I was friends with them both, but I still had a certain prejudice towards them. Actually, as a youngster, I respected their assault on convention and the statis quo. For them, I think, smoking dope was a form of rebellion against an oppressive and overly rule-bound world. I still respect this atttitude, although nowadays I am always on the lookout for peeps who make such a statement, not because they believe the principles behind the statement, but because it's cool to do, which makes the statement just another form of submission to peer pressure and identification with a particular peer group.

Counterculture --

I guess counterculture has never really been about anything new and novel, just different. When I think of the thousands of hippies in the 60's, my parents being a few of them, I realize that those thousands of folks, maybe even millions, in fact, probably millions, were not all about novelty and newness, but just about identifying with something different. You can't have millions of pioneers; there is inevitable overlap, and I suppose even counterculture develops rules and mores that must be abided by. That is, I'm sure that a banker dressed in a navy blue suit, with starched white shirt with nicely coifed hair would not be welcomed into a hippie enclave. He doesn't fit the exterior mold of what a hippie should be, so, even within counter-culture, there is a price for admittance. You must look the part. I'm not really talking about potsmokers here, but I suppose in order to be part of the burnout culture, you have to rebell against society in a certain manner, smoke dope, take drugs, and without this, you are not admitted. So, in any culture, there is the price of conformity.

Aaarrrgghh -- I feel for my students. Yet another "loop" and I dont see anything of interest to me above. Maybe it's because I move too quickly to resolution. So, for example, above, I was writing about potheads, moved to counterculture, and then directly to the realization that even counterculture require coformity. What now? What nmow? What now? now? now ? red?resd?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red?red/redd?red?red/red?redd/re?red?red?red/red?red/red/reD?

okay, do people have a natural desire to alter their own state of consciousness? This is the beauty of smoking weed, an altered state. The same is true of drinking alcohol, an altered state. Smoking cigarettes. Drinking Coffee. Running and exercise. Travel to bew and exciting places. Sex. Driving really really fast, buying new clothes. and on and on. all of these things alter our state of consciousness. Pot smokers just choose a rather quick and reliable means of doing so. Are we all so unhappy with who and what we are, how we are under normal circumstances? I wonder. Or maybe there is something even more fundamental than that that drives us to alter our consciousness? It doesn't have to be a negative thing, like discontentedness, but maybe just a natural human drive, like procreation or eating, that compels us to do so.

last loop. good night and good luck.

Bloggers

Blogging, as a daily activity, seems to be gaining momentum in the online world. It seems more and more people, from a wide-ranging demographic, are building and maintaining blogs everyday. I'm not part of this culture, although I should be because (a) I like to write, and (b) I like to be online, BUT, (c) I'm lazy and undisciplined always gets in the way.

I've spent some time reading blogs, from the personal to the academic, and am always intrigued by both sorts. Some of the personal blogs I've read are examples of great writing -- interesting, engaging, and ultimately about more than just someone's life and online journeys. The same, of course, is true of the academic blog I've read.

As a blogger, I've never really been motivated to maintain a blog. Yes, I have one here, but I dont use it for blogging purposes. The idea behind a blog is to create a web of knowledge by writing about and linking to others' online writing and ideas. Many blogs these days are more like personal diaries, online, which is sort of how I use my blogspace -- I fill it with whatever I happen to be doing or working on at the moment. So, for example, if I need "space" to work while I'm teaching my classes, I use my blog, or if I am working on something for work and need to sort my ideas out, I use my blog, or when I am reading materials for classes I am taking and feel compelled to record or write about what I am reading, I use my blog. I rarely use it for personal reasons, for writing essays or talking about what I did this past weekend, but, then again I rarely do that sort of writing anyway, although I probably should so I can begin working on creative nonfiction again.

What do I know about these people -- bloggers? I know they are connected to the online world, come from a variety of backgrounds -- young and old, educated and otherwise, rich - middle class - poor, men and woman, girls and boys, I know spam has popped up on blogs and you can get a blog for free from companies such as blogspot.

I think these people are social and extroverted, for the most part. I think it takes a certain amount of courage to lay yourself out in front of the cyber world everyday. I believe many bloggers are using blogs as diaries and journals rather than what they are intended for, and because of this, I think the definition of a blog is changing.

An Experiment in Dress

Cory A. Lund
Eng 5870: Research in Composition
Dr. Zeni
An Experiment in the Effect of Dress

A. Research Question

Is the friendliness of people who serve the public affected by the appearance of poverty in the persons they serve?

B. Hypothesis

Overall, I believe people will serve people dressed professionally better, with more attention, care and kindness than those who appear poor. There is a great deal of research substantiating this idea. I am, however, choosing to conduct my research at the Belleville Public Library. The Belleville library is located one block south of downtown at the corner of Washington and Jackson.

This area, the blocks south of main street, have been commandeered by a whole host of lawyers, paraprofessionals, and independent businesses. As such, it is not uncommon to see a variety of bankers, lawyers, real estate agents, and the like strolling down Washington, meeting one another for business meetings, heading to the courthouse, having lunch at the Washington Street Grill.

Downtown Belleville also attracts a diverse mix of other types. There are numerous businesses such as The Ground Floor, Broadway Center for the Arts, Circa, Main Street Jazz and Blues that cater to the young, hip college crowd. There are a wide variety of restaurants each catering to a different crowd. Aging boomers frequent The Pie Pantry. Castletown Geoghan provides a truly English pub experience for the whole family. And so on.

At any rate, to return to my hypothesis, downtown Belleville is quite diverse, and the library serves each of these segments of the population. My hypothesis is that since the librarians are accustomed to servicing a mix of people, from professional and poor backgrounds, my treatment in this experience will vary little, if at all.

C. Constructs

Appearance of poverty: Utilitarian.

I choose attire I might wear for hiking. I choose such wear because of its utilitarian quality. Comfortable shoes. Layered dress. Outer wear intended for heavy use. Gloves. Hat for warmth.

I wore worn Khakis, a white t-shirt covered by a St. John’s plaid long sleeve button-up shirt, muddied and worn hiking boots, a bright yellow velour-like high-necked pullover, canvas gloves and a faded purple Vikings hat.

Professional appearance: Snappy, clean, muted, sharp lines.

I wore a dark blue wool suit with a pressed white cotton shirt and a muted red paisley tie. Interview wear (literally).

Friendliness: Genial and helpful tone of voice, eye contact, smile, complete and unhurried response to question, and willing clarification, if required.

D. Data Collection Instrument

(Y/N) Prompt acknowledgement and service
(Y/N) Eye contact, beyond cursory
(Y/N) Welcoming and helpful tone of voice
(Y/N) Complete, clear response
(Y/N) Willing clarification
(Y/N) Friendly Send-off

Notes and Narrative:



E. Comparison of Responses

On the morning of January 24th, I visited the Belleville Public Library. I dressed as I do for interviews, and hopefully I appeared professional.

I walked into the library and approached the front desk. There was no one else in line, and the workers were discussing some work issue behind the counter. When I approached the front of the desk, a worker approached me immediately and said "Can I help you?" She did not smile, although her demeanor was welcoming and her tone was soft, quiet, and certainly not off-putting. She did not treat me special, but was very professional with me. She did not maintain a great deal of eye-contact, although I did not take this to mean she was uninterested or uncaring.

I asked, "Do you have computers with internet access?"

She replied, "Yes, we do, but you need a library card to use them."

She grabbed a three-ring binder from the desk and flipped it open and began paging through it. She asked me if I lived in the area and I replied, “yes” and gave her my address. She explained that I would need proof of residence and a photo ID to get a library card and that the process was simple and short. I thanked her, explained that I did not have time to get a library card at the moment, but that I would be back later. She nodded at me, although she did not smile, and returned to the desk behind the counter and continued with her previous conversation with her co-worker.

(Y/N) Prompt acknowledgement and service
(Y/N) Eye contact, beyond cursory
(Y/N) Welcoming and helpful tone of voice
(Y/N) Complete, clear response
(Y/N) Willing clarification
(Y/N) Friendly Send-off


On Thursday, January 26th, I returned to the Belleville Public Library, this time dressed as described above.

I walked into the library and approached the front desk, much the same as before. The same middle-aged woman was sitting behind the counter at a desk covered with books and paperwork. She was writing something down when I approached although she immediately moved to the front desk when I approached, not bothering to finish with the sentence or line-item she was working on. Again she said, “Can I help you?” in much the same manner as before.

Again, I asked if the library had computers with internet access.

She said, “Do you have your library card,” and I told her that I did not have a library card.

She explained to me that I would need proof of residency and a photo ID to get a library card before I would be able to check out a computer workstation.

I thanked her for her time, she smiled curtly at me, and I left.

(Y/N) Prompt acknowledgement and service
(Y/N) Eye contact, beyond cursory
(Y/N) Welcoming and helpful tone of voice
(Y/N) Complete, clear response
(Y/N) Willing clarification
(Y/N) Friendly Send-off


Analysis:

I’m not certain I can draw any conclusions from my experiment. In each case, the employee of the library treated me with courtesy and care. She was professional and willing to help. She did not look me in the eyes, but this may not be an indicator of friendliness, and, thus, a failure of my instrument and the manner in which I am defining “friendly.”

In fact, in looking at the transcript of each encounter, I realize that I was given a far more complete answer to my question when I was dressed poorly. She explained to me the process of acquiring a library card, as well as some of the procedure for obtaining permission to use the computers – show card, sign out open computer, 30 minute time limit if other patrons are waiting, etc. I did not sense that this extended reply was patronizing either. I imagine, however, she assumed that I would be back to use the computers whereas in my previous disguise she may have assumed I would find alternate access to a computer with internet access that did not include proof of residence and a photo ID.

F. Experimental Design

I think, in general, this experiment was thoughtfully designed, although probably not as well-designed as it might be.

The instrument I utilized was a sort of mixed-methods approach as I was able to gather both qualitative data – fieldnotes – and survey responses, producing quantitative data, although the survey items were completed by yours truly.

If this was a study of some importance, I would examine the reliability and validity of my instrument and make revisions to it based on pilot tests, so, for example, remove the eye-contact item in favor of some other item that might be more indicative of friendliness. My test case proves that eye-contact is not a necessary criterion for friendliness to occur.

I might also question might operational definition of friendliness because, in this case, it has come to mean something more akin to professionalism. I realize that this is what I was looking for, rather than simply friendliness. If I was to adhere to a more stringent denotation for friendliness, the librarian might have failed on both accounts.

To truly study the issue, a well-designed study would expand the sample size significantly. For this experiment, we examined a single context. The assignment itself suggested five contexts, and to truly collect data of statistical significance, we might have to study many more contexts, employing many data collectors representing many different demographics so that we could rule out age or gender or race as factor. Maybe poor woman or minorities are far more likely to encounter unfriendly behavior than poor, middle- aged men.

In addition, the sampling of contexts should be much wider to account for regional or even geographic differences. I explained that downtown Belleville is a nexus of demographics and SES, and, I know for a fact that library employees are accustomed to servicing a diversity of people (my wife and I use the library frequently; in fact, my wife is a librarian, although not at this branch). If I was to visit the Schlafly branch of St. Louis’ library, which is off Kingshighway, near Forest Park, I might encounter vastly different behavior patterns.

Apple & iTunes U

Apple announced a new initiative to further integrate its popular iTunes software within college and university curriculum -- iTunes U.

From what I understand, the iTunes skin is customizable, so a college or university can add their own logo to customize the appearance of the program, which is cool, and a thoughtful effect.

I think, however, what further distinguishes iTunes U from iTunes is that adminstrators are able to customize access. I *think* this means that administrators could limit users access to music and other downloads via iTunes so a college could install iTunes on their machines and limit student's access to only podcasts, and myabe only podcasts affiliated with that school.

So, if we had iTunes installed on our computers here, we could set it up to only access podcasts developed by faculty at this campus, so students wouldn't be looking at music videos, or listening to clips of music during class.

Rich vs. Poor

Prompt Greeting?

Eye Contact?

Smile?

Tone?

Completeness of Answer?

Salutation?

This morning I went to the library. Briefly, I dressed as I do for interviews, and hopefully I appear professional.

I walked into the library and approached the front desk. There was no one else in line, and the workers were discussing some work issue behind the counter. When I approached the front of the desk, a worker approached me immediately and said "Can I ehlp you?" She did not smile, although her demeanor was welcoming and her tone was soft, quiet, but certainly not off-putting. She did not treat me special, but was very professional with me.

I asked, "Do you have computers with internet access?"

She replied, "Yes, we do, but you need a library card to use them."

She grabbed a three-ring binder from the desk and flipped it open and began paging through it. She asked me if I lived in the area and I replied yes and gave her my address.

I'm not sure what she was doing, but it seemed to me she was looking something up, maybe my name and address. I told her that I would try back later and thanked her. She returned a thank-you and I exited the library.

Let me say, as a humanities person, I understand the value of the local library, and I use it quite often actually, but I just give my wife a list of books I want, she requests and picks them up for me. My wife is a librarian for St Louis County so she acts as a liasion of sorts.

I realize that my choice of fieldsite might affect my research. The Belleville library is located one block south of main street, and is literally surrounded by dozens of lawyers' offices. It is not uncommon to see men and women in business suits strolled down Jackson or High streets. Overall, downtown attracts a wide variety of folk, every age and SES. I assume the librarians are accustomed to serving a wide variety of patrons.

Moreover, I asked for "a computer with internet access." I'm sure that I speak with a certain assurance when speaking about technology because I am very comfortable with it. Certainly, this is expected from a professional, but I wonder, if I phrase and speak in the same manner when highlighting as a poor person, whether my ruse might be blown. The digital divide separates those in the know from the digitally uninitiated. If I change my question, and ask, "Do you have computers with the web on them," terminology that might indicate unknowingness, this will certainly be more in character, but will it somehow taint my methodology?

Don't know. I'll think about this.

Viterbo Adopts SMG across Curriculum

http://www.viterbo.edu/personalpages/faculty/WStobb/WAC%20-%20StMartins.htm

Viterbo, a college in Wisconsin, adopted the SMG across the writing curriculum in the fall of 04, an initiative extending until 09.
The WAC cmte also urges other faculty assigning writing on their courses to adopt the text as well, much like SWIC's initiative. Viterbo suggests a number of ways for faculty to use the text in their classrooms. The author suggests that using a consistent handbook might help students to transfer the knowledge learned in their composition classrooms to new disciplinary contexts.

This is interesting, and a sidenote. I'm thinking that maybe I could design a study to document the SMG's adoption's impact on WAC at SWIC. Maybe this could be my dissertation topic. The only problem is it might now be quantitative, but more of a mixed methods study, I wonder what Dr. Zeni would think of that?

Suggestions for use:

1. spend 10m reviewing table of contents in class to refamiliarize students with the text.
2. Assign chapter 2, Rhetorical Situations, to help students better understand how the different conventions in disciplines affect the writing produced in them. Chapter 2 also reinforcves what we are already teaching in our composition classes -- we teach students about the choices that writers are required to make based on audience, purpose, genre, stance, and language. We discuss all of these elements in our classes, but, again, transference is always a decided problem.
3. Review chapter 3, which speaks to prewriting.

One of the interesting things about Viterbo's program is that they train writing students in how to use the handbook generally. Maybe this is an agenda we could adopt at SWIC. Train faculty in how to train students in the use of the SMG.

In terms of WAC, it seems that Viterbo has a vital program, one that we might learn from.

Chairs, Deans, and Coordinators

I suppose I need to put together some thoughts regarding the deans, chairs, and coordinators meeting tomorrow morning. Winnie has kept a fairly tight lip regarding what Paul is expecting us to present at this meeting. From what Paul has said previously, it seems we are to answer this question: of what benefit is The St. Martin's Handbook to faculty across the curriculum?

My initial ideas are primarily big-picture thinking, not specifically about this book. because, honestly, it's not this text so much as it is the idea of adopting a writing handbook for the entire college. Make no mistake, I think this is a good handbook, which is why the department adopted it over many others in the first place, but, for me, the message being sent to faculty across the curriculum is the bigger advantage, and that is that writing is important, and we are all in this together in terms of teaching students to write well.

For me, the advantages of adopting a handbook are many. First of all, in order for writing across the curriculum to develop, grow, and be successful, it must be a grassroots movement. One of the greatest successes of the WFG is Larry Gilbert's getting on the writing bandwagon and making changes to his own program, organic and from the inside. Adopting a handbook such as this one allows us a faculty to begin the sorts of conversations needed to foster this sort of grassroots growth, and, additionally, begin to develop shared standards and criteria for writing. The development of the WFG rubric is one step in this direction. With it, we laid out some very basic criteria for grading writing, and even this has spurred conversations across disciplines regarding grading standards, but this is not enough. The rubric is designed to be general enough to apply to all writing across all disciplines. Probably, for use within specific disciplines or departments, a more tailored rubric should be developed that addresses the concerns of that constintuent, and the SMG allows for that and can help people in other disciplines to formulate such rubrics.

The SMG also will help to develop a common language for grading writing across disciplines. I am quite certain students are often confused moving from one teacher to another regarding what standards are applied to their writing, even though, each may be addressing the same concern or deficiency. Even with grammar, what I call a run-on, another may coin a fused sentence. We need a core of common language to present to students and the widespread use of the SMG, I think, will begin to develop this core, shared language for the assessment of writing.

In terms of the SMG specifically, it is a process oriented text. For many, writing is a product, and this attitude is probably the first that needs to change of writing is to explode as a concern across the curriculum because if we want to effect significant change in the product, we need to begin with the process that went into the creation of that product, and the SMG's focus on writing as process may help to shift this focus somewhat.