Max, I have for several years used Joe Williams' STYLE: TEN LESSONS IN CLARITY AND GRACE in advanced comp and teacher ed. Students generally find it very difficult, but I persevere as long as their patience with me holds out. I have also tried Art Peterson's THE WRITER'S WORKOUT BOOK, but not enough to have a strong opinion about it. Like you, I found these approaches to the study of style useful ways also to get into the study of grammar. If the textbooks and I simply use grammatical terminology to explain what we are asking students to do, students seem to pick up the concepts with less strain. I don't know why we should be surprised that it's a good idea to teach grammar in the context of using grammatical concepts for practical purposes. I may have begun learning to flyfish on the grass in my back yard, but I quickly moved into flyfishing on water in pursuit of actual fish. It was a lot more interesting, even when I wrapped the flyline around my neck. Bill >Bill, wonderful summary of the issues. I wish it were easy to summarize >solutions. > >I've become enamored this past semester with Katy Wood Ray's book WONDROUS >WORDS , which is on the craft of writing. She explains craft in literature >(children's to articles in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED). And she shows how to teach >students (elementary and middle school) how to read as writers and write as >readers (how to recognize craft in literature and how to get that same kind >of craft into their own writing). I'm using Ray's book in my junior-level >grammar class (mostly for English Ed majors) along with my own text. The >final paper in the class is a "craft paper," in which students have to take >a piece of literature of their choice and explain its craft. Usually, the >students work on a chapter or a few pages of a novel or short story, >anything from Henry James to primary-school picture books. > >Ray's book has allowed me to focus on the relationships between grammar, >writing, and literature. I THINK I'm finally getting students to see some >use in their gaining a knowledge of grammar. But, damn, it's taken me a >long time to figure out how to do so, though it's what I've been trying to >accomplish for 35 years or so now. Maybe I'll finally succeed before I >retire. Max > >************************************** William J. McCleary 3247 Bronson Hill Road Livonia, NY 14487 716-346-6859 To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/