The Wrong Way You Were Probably Taught Grammar

Yesterday Professor Michelle Navarre Cleary was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio’s The Kathleen Dunn Show. During the hour she discussed, in short, the wrong way to teach grammar.

Many SNL students probably remember having to memorize parts of speech, complete grammar drills, and—perhaps the worst of all—diagram sentences. Research has shown, however, that teaching grammar before students are allowed to actually write is counterproductive, serving only to produce “people who are terrified to write.”

It is the rare person who steps into a writing course or approaches a writing project completely free of anxiety. “Writing is hard,” and “good writing is clear thinking,” Navarre Cleary explains. And sometimes, “it’s easier to worry about where the comma goes than to really push yourself to clarify your ideas.” But if you allow yourself to be challenged—by answering classmates’ questions about your work, your instructor’s questions, and your own—the grammar will follow naturally: “it’s in that effort to communicate that people start to learn what makes sense in terms of arranging their words in sentences.”

To listen to the full recording and hear more about why you should give yourself permission to quiet your inner copy editor, click here.

ALSO: Don't forget the deadline to submit to the Writing Showcase is April 1st!