Sprunger

ENG 315

Ten Sentences I

"Grammar may be taught in two main ways - by experience with discourse that entails the variety of word forms and sentence construction, or by analyzing dummy sentences and diagraming parts. Plentiful discursive experience is what really teaches grammar, for it exercises judgment and provides language intake, whereas formal grammar study has been proved irrelevant. Politics more than pedagogy retards the changing of the curriculum to fit this truth."

Praxis

In order to think about grammar and style in the context of real writing, each student will look at ten sentences, inside out, over the course of the semester. Here's how we'll get started.

1. Find ten consecutive sentences from a modern prose work you enjoy. You'll be revisiting these sentences from time to time, so choose carefully. They should be sentences that 1) have some grammatical variety; 2) are not frustratingly complicated; 3) you will not tire of rereading.

2. Using a word processor, type out the ten sentences, numbering each. Each new sentence should start on a new line.

3. Provide a bibliographic citation (work and page number(s)).

4. Print out two copies of your sentences. One copy will go in my course notebook.

Completing this assignment on time will earn "task points."