Within the field of writing, there is a lot of controversial beliefs on how to become a good writer. In Patricia A. Dunn’s essay, “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing” in the book Bad Ideas About Writing, Dunn explains why teaching grammar in an attempt to improve writing impinges on a student’s writing development. Grammar and writing are two different subjects and therefore teaching grammar does not help students develop the necessary skills to produce good writing. If the intention is to improve writing, the focus should be on writing itself. Instead of teaching grammar, teachers should incorporate authentic writing assignments. Authentic writing assignments help students to develop flexible literacy skills to become a good writer and allow them to experience real-world feedback.
Authentic. Credit: Nick Youngson
Before elaborating on what authentic writing is, those who share the belief that grammar does improve writing may be astonished by the claim above. If writing involves grammar, why wouldn’t one improve the other? Well, grammar is a set of rules to adhere to in writing, but the usages of grammar are not universal. As Patricia Dunn stated, “… [these] so-called rules are not rules at all but merely conventions, which are not universal and can change over time and from genre to genre” (Dunn 147). To illustrate this, take into consideration essays and memorandums. There is a “rule” stating one should not use pronouns in an essay, but in a memorandum, writers are expected to use pronouns. This an example of how grammar usage varies depending on the application of writing.
Grammar. Credit: PDPics
However, it is not to say that grammar does not have its importance in writing. The problem relies on how its taught. Traditionally, teachers teach grammar in an abstract way that does not necessarily involves a student’s writing. So, instead, as Constance Weaver says in her famous article “Teaching Grammar in the Context of Writing,” “…teaching grammar in the context of writing might be much more effective than teaching grammar as a separate subject” (Weaver 16). The idea is to turn the teaching method from something abstract into something concrete. If teachers taught grammar in the context of a student’s writing, students could better form a connection. When students can make the connections of grammatical errors with their work, they get real feedback on how to improve their writing grammatically. Nonetheless, grammar and writing are still two different subjects, and if the desire is to improve writing, the focus should be on writing.
So, what is authentic writing? Authentic writing is writing in which the author is genuinely interested in the subject at hand. It is writing where the author has a real purpose in their writing and a real audience to present to. Given these two circumstances, the writer becomes genuinely engaged in their writing because of the desire to have their voice heard and make a difference with what they are saying. Unfortunately, in most writing classes today, this form of writing is rarely incorporated in classes. The writing seen in school is writing where there is not a real purpose or audience. Students write based on the extrinsic motivation of a letter grade, and the audience is limited to a teacher or exam scorer.
To evaluate one the benefits of incorporating authentic writing assignments in school today, consider this statement made by Ken Lindblom in the article “School Writing Vs Authentic Writing,” “…when students write on social media, they are devising something to say, considering how to best say it to their intended audience, and they engage the results of their writing…” (1). When students become genuinely interested in their purpose for writing, they naturally exhibit skills that are critical to be a good writer. When writing a paper, the author must formulate why they are writing, for whom they are writing, and of course, provide the necessary revisions to their writing to make sure their writing can be understood. These skills are not only a necessity for writing a paper but have many useful applications to real-world assignment as well. As an example, consider a business advertising a product. For a business to get the best results, the advertiser must understand why they are promoting a product, who their intended audience is, and make sure the context of their message is clear to the audience.
Failure and Success. Credit: Ramdlon
Another benefit authentic writing provides, is that it gives authors real feedback. In the article, “Real-World Writing: Making Purpose and Audience Matter” by Grant Wiggins, Wiggins states that when writers are facing a real audience, “…[they] get the feedback [they] desperately need to become good writers” (Wiggins 33). Having a real audience equates to real feedback, and of course, this type of feedback is non-existent in typical school writing since there is no real audience. Just like any other action, being able to experience the results of one’s work is one of the most influential factors. Of course, results can either be successful or failure, but make no mistake; both success and failure can cause growth in an author’s writing.
While writing and grammar are interrelated, one does not improve the other. If teachers teach grammar in an attempt to improve writing, teach grammar in the context of the student’s writing to assist the student’s writing. As for the method to improve writing, teachers should incorporate authentic writing assignments in their classes. Authentic writing help students develop flexible literacy skills and allow them to experience real-world success or failure of their writing. Now, while some may see failure as a non-beneficial outcome, this is also another controversial belief that is not true. For those who do believe this, read the article “Failure Is Not an Option” by Allison D. Carr in the book Bad Ideas About Writing to get a better understanding of the benefits of failing.
Works Cited
Dunn, Patricia. “Teaching Grammar Improves Writing.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Ball, Cheryl and Loewe, Drew. 2007, pp. 144-149. textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf. Accessed April 8, 2019.
Carr, Allison. “Failure is Not an Option.” Bad Ideas About Writing. Ball, Cheryl and Loewe, Drew. 2007, pp. 76-81. textbooks.lib.wvu.edu/badideas/badideasaboutwriting-book.pdf. Accessed April 8, 2019.
Lindblom, Ken. “School Writing Vs. Authentic Writing.” July 27, 2015. writerswhocare.wordpress.com/2015/07/27/school-writing-vs-authentic-writing/. Accessed April 8, 2019.
Wiggins, Grant. “EJ in Focus: Real-World Writing: Making Purpose and Audience Matter.” The English Journal, vol. 98, no. 5, 2009, pp. 29–37. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40503292.
Weaver, Constance. “Teaching Grammar in the Context of Writing.” The English Journal, vol. 85, no. 7, 1996, pp. 15–24. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/820502.
PdPics. Grammar Magnifier Magnifying Glass. 2013. Pixabay, www.pixabay.com/photos/grammar-magnifier-magnifying-glass-389907/. Accessed April 26, 2019.
Youngson, Nick. Authentic. Picpedia, www.picpedia.org/handwriting/a/authentic.html. Accessed April 26, 2019.
Ramdlon. Success Failure Opposite. 2016. Pixabay, www.pixabay.com/photos/success-failure-opposite-choice-1123017/. Accessed April 26, 2019.