Intro It has recently come to my attention that the way writing has been portrayed and taught has

extensive flaws and is extremely misleading. The concepts of both reading and writing are not being taught to students efficiently. Priorities of these subjects are widely misconstrued, which in result, does not allow students to strive to their full potential. While there seems to be many forms of unnecessary restrictions, rules, constructs, etc. to the art of writing, grammar is a subject that, in my opinion, is over evaluated and results in the constraints of writing. However, if we change our ideas and teachings about the importance of these set rules of grammar and put our main focus on the creativity of writing, it will result in exceptional writing skills. Sources Warner, Ann L. "If the Shoe No Longer Fits, Wear It Anyway?" The English Journal. 82, No. 5 (1993): 76-80. JSTOR. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/820822>. In this article Warner argues that the teachings of formal grammar in a classroom, in the end, have a negative impact on students. Warner discusses how the time and efforts that are put towards basic grammar in a classroom is neglecting the time that students should be learning actual composition skills. Warner brings to our attention that teachers do know that this is happening, however, still teach formal grammar to go along with curriculum guides. This article will be very beneficial, because not Warner not only uses her ideas and statements, but she also has done research and has graphs and numbers on the subject that I can utilize. I will use this article to show that the teaching methods used are what brings unnecessary emphasis on grammar, leading to a lack of English writing skills among students. Sanborn, Jean. "Grammar: Good Wine Before Its Time." The English Journal 75. No. 3 (1986): 72-80. JSTOR. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/818870>. Grammar: Good Wine Before Its Time, discusses the flaws in how teachers attempt to teach students how grammar works. Sanborn discusses the different methods of teaching that lead students to not fully understand the concepts of grammar. I will use this source alongside my previous source, because the topics go handin-hand. I will be able to discuss the different reasons why grammar is poorly taught. The reasons lie within the teaching methods, along with teacher experience. One example that Sanborn brought to my attention is that grammar is taught by breaking down a sentence. Why should we be taught by breaking down a sentence when we do the exact opposite when we write and compose sentences?

Kolln, Martha. "Rhetorical Grammar: A Modification Lesson." The Great Debate (Again): Teaching Grammar and Usage 87 (1996): 25-31. JSTOR. Web. 30 Feb. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/820503>. In this article Kolln explains what grammar really is and how the teachings of grammar have changed over the years. Kolln goes on to define grammar and discusses the 5 ways it is used. She then goes on to explain what would happen if grammar were taught in a positive manner, or rhetorically. She explains that grammar should be taught, but alongside with the quality of writing. I can use this source to add to my solution or conclusion to my argument. I will use this to say that grammar should not be banished from the English language, but it should be taught more effectively, in a way that also improves students quality of writing as well. Bartholomae, David. "The Study of Error." College Composition and Communication 31, No. 3 (1980): 253-69. JSTOR. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/356486>. This article touches on what most people to believe basic writing is. There is no real definition to basic writing, but we all hold in our heads what we believe it is. We use textbooks and models to compare writings to understand more but in the end we dont ever really know. This article could be used just to discuss basic writings and how grammar is brought into the mix of it all.

Dunn, Patricia A., and Kenneth Lindblom. "Why Revitalize Grammar." The English Journal 92 (2003): 43-50. JSTOR. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/822259>. This article builds upon the thoughts of one of the previous articles "Rhetorical Grammar: A Modification Lesson". This article questions why grammar is so popular among professionals and nonprofessionals alike. The reasoning they give is that teachers want to have easy guidelines so they can give quick and effective responses to their students. Another reason they give is that grammar gives us one set of rules that allows us to pretend that there is one pathway to succeed. However, grammar is being utilized in the wrong ways. I could use this article as a base for my counterargument. I could discuss why grammar is important to the English language, and why people put such emphasis on the subject.

Beason, Larry. "Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors." College Composition and Communication 53 (2001): 33-64. JSTOR. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/359061>. This article discusses how errors in writing seem to bother nonacademic readers along with teachers. The question that this article presents is; why do we (as readers and writers) see the errors in the writing before we can see the content? Beason goes on to explain that we are taught this way, from when we were little to now, it is how we are programmed. The way that I will use this article is to show that the content of writing is more important than how it is composed. I will discuss that as a society we need to oversee misspelling, grammar mistakes, etc. and instead see what the piece of writing is trying to discuss with the audience. Appelman, Alyssa, and Paul Bolls. "Article Recall, Credibility Lower with Grammar Errors." Newspaper Research Journal 32.2: 50-62. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. This study shows the effects of grammatical errors on the credibility of news stories and the amount of time and effort required to read them. They argue that errors can increase reading difficulty and lower readers perception of credibility as well as what they can recall. I will use this article to build on my argument that grammatical errors and misuse take away from what the author, or in this case reporter, is trying to get across to the audience. This article even goes to the extent that grammar errors in a factual piece of news makes people wonder about the credibility. Note to self: Alden 7th Floor PN4700 .N515 V.3(1982)-V.28(2007)- CURRENT ISSUES IN CURRENT PERIODICALS (4TH FLOOR) Marand, Ebrahim S., and Adel Dasgoshadeh. "Teachers' Beliefs about Grammar Teaching." European Journal of Social Science 23.1 (2011): 53-60. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=33e49980-9535-4444-ba1f5580b4d5195a%40sessionmgr12&vid=8&hid=25 This article discusses what teachers think about the teachings of grammars. Which is a change of pace from the articles, because unlike criticizing the teaching methods, it gives the teachers a voice in this debate.

I will use this article to switch from my criticizing attitude towards teachers and show what they think of the subject.

Wyse, Dominic. "Grammar. For Writing? A Critical Review of Empirical Evidence." British Journal of Educational Studies 49 (2001): 411-27. JSTOR. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3122362>. This article discusses how the performances in writing in the SATs have resulted in the Grammar for Writing Initiative. They also discuss how changes will be needed to be made to English curriculum to see any results. Like my previous articles, this article also shows how teaching methods need to be changed with grammar to improve the overall writing skills of students. Levine, Glenn S. "Problematizing the Teaching and Learning of Grammar in the Intermediate German Classroom: A Sociocultural Approach." Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German 39 (2006): 1-13. JSTOR. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/20479869>.