Dear All,
After my recent posting to ATEG, in which I urged folks to send in articles to Syntax in the Schools for consideration, I received an email with a good suggestion. Ben Varner, of University of Northern Colorado, suggested that we might also consider smaller articles, and create a forum in which students could submit pieces.

Struck me as a great idea, and while we've always welcomed articles by students, perhaps creating a student section like this would highlight the opportunity for students. How about a section like STUDENT VOICES?

So, at this point, SIS publishes full-length articles on grammar (see our editorial policy for the range of topics), and also pieces in the NOTES IN THE MARGIN (comments by teachers), and a new STUDENT VOICES section.

Thanks for the suggestion, Ben!  We're considering the article from your student.

Oh, and regarding the length of pieces to be submitted -- the editorial policy said, I believe, 2,500 - 4000 words.  While the applied, academic papers will be of the longer variety (actually 1,500 - 4,000 words seems appropriate at this point in our evolution), we do welcome shorter notes -- 500 words and up, for the NOTES section and the VOICES section.  Of course, book reviews will tend to be on the shorter side.

Cheers folks,

Rebecca Wheeler
 
 

Ben Varner wrote:

Hi, Rebecca--

I saw your post asking for submission to SIS.  I have a suggestion:
Why don't you add a column which would publish smaller articles
by students, especially undergraduates?

One of the interesting things I have noticed in my teaching of
composition is that students often complain they are not taught
grammar in their writing courses, yet they do want to know enough
of it to have more confidence in their sentence construction.  Such
a column in SIS would allow educators to read the concerns of
the students.

Attached is an essay written by Lee Larsen, an undergraduate at
the University of Northern Colorado.  It's a pretty good discussion
of the issue, I think.

                                               Ben Varner
                                  University of Northern Colorado

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Rebecca S. Wheeler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Christopher Newport University
1 University Place
Newport News, VA 23606-2998

Editor, Syntax in the Schools
The Journal of the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG), an
assembly of the NCTE
http://www2.pct.edu/courses/evavra/ATEG/SiS.htm

phone: (757) 594-8891;  fax: (757) 594-8870
email: [log in to unmask]

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