Peter, Training wheels--pretty good. The analogy that I like to use is that they have a learner's permit. Once they've learned the rules, they can start using their poetic license. Don Stewart Keeper of the memory and method of Dr. Francis Christensen www.writeforcollege.com www.epsbooks.com On Jun 15, 2006, at 10:02 AM, Peter Adams wrote: One of the most common mythical rules I've heard from my students is, "Never use the pronoun 'you' in formal writing." I think a lot of these rules originate from teachers well-intentioned attempts to help students avoid error. Since point-of-view shift is a common error that some student writers seem to have trouble avoiding, some teachers just limit their options for point-of-view by saying, "never use the pronoun you." I call these strategies on the part of teachers "training wheels." When teaching someone to ride a bicycle, which involves doing many different activities at one, parents often buy a bike with training wheels, which limit the number of things the young bike rider has to think about at the same time. The training wheels take care of balance, so the rider can focus on pedaling, steering, etc. I think telling students not to use the pronoun "you" or not to start a sentence with "because" or to always make the thesis the last sentence in the first paragraph is an attempt to limit the student writer's options, so he or she doesn't have to think about too many things at once. Training wheels, for the writer, if you will. The problem is that teachers, too often, fail to take off the training wheels and never even tell students that the "rule" isn't really a rule, just something to help them when they are learning to write. Students then leave the classroom thinking that what there teacher taught them is, in fact, a rule . . . and another mythical rule is born. Peter Adams 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/ 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/