As Peter has suggested, it was Francis Christensen who developed his
rhetoric program using the concept of "Levels of Generality," with
grammatical units being added to the main clause in order to create
sentences of great variety and style. Such sentences he defined as
"cumulative sentences." Unlike the large number of groupings that are
displayed in Scott's example, the Christensen method requires punctuation,
generally a comma but sometimes a colon or dash, to move from one level to
another. The levels are numbered, with the main clause being a Level 1. A
Level 2 modifies something in the Level 1, and so on. There are basically
eight "free modifiers" that can appear in those lower levels, and by
teaching just those eight, you can make the solid connection between grammar
and writing.
Those eight free modifiers, by the way, are the present and past participial
phrases, the absolute phrase, the noun phrase, the adjective and adverb
clause, the prepositional phrase, and the adjective cluster.
Don Stewart
On 2/26/08, STAHLKE, HERBERT F <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I don't know if there is a teaching method or a theory behind it, but the
> method takes advantage of one of the features of good sentences, that that
> complexity increases rightward. We can add modifiers to the right much more
> easily than to the left. A couple of famous linguistic examples are
>
>
>
> Right Branching
>
>
>
> the height of the lettering on the covers of the books
>
>
>
> Left Branching
>
>
>
> the books' covers' lettering's height
>
>
>
> Using Kimberley's teaching technique reinforces adding complexity to the
> right and teaches an important feature of well constructed sentences.
>
>
>
> Herb
>
>
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Kimberley Hunt
> *Sent:* 2008-02-26 20:38
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: graphic display of text syntax for comprehensibility
>
>
>
> Scott,
>
> Yes, I've used this method -- for teaching Shakespeare to high school
> students.
>
> I learned the basics in workshops at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater where
> it's called "scoring the text." It's a method actors used to isolate
> parentheticals and main clauses to derive a clearer understanding of their
> lines. I took what I learned there and applied it in grammar lessons for
> phrases and clauses in my 11th and 12th grade literature classes, and we've
> used it extensively in poetry analysis as well as Shakespeare.
>
> As one of the class exercises, I had them, as a group, build a story by
> adding phrases and clauses to main clauses -- which generated a structure
> that looks very much like the one in your message. They had a good time
> telling a story in really, really long sentences, too. I had fun, too (oops
> -- am I allowed to have fun teaching grammar and syntax?).
>
> I don't know what the grammatical theory is behind this, but I do now
> recall learning to do something like this back in the 1980s when I in
> training as a college composition teacher at Loyola University Chicago.
>
> Hope that illuminates a little.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Scott Woods
> Sent: Feb 26, 2008 3:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: graphic display of text syntax for comprehensibility
>
> Listmates,
>
> I came across a way of displaying text graphically to show the reader the
> chunks of language. The original, from a Latin teaching website,
> http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/languages/classical/latin/tchmat/accrdrs.html ,
> has one version with extensive grammar mark ups and another with just
> the chunks, separated vertically on the page. A middle type in
> English follows:
>
>
>
> The boy,
>
> crouched
>
> on his nail keg
>
> at the back
>
> of the crowded room,
>
> knew
>
> he smelled cheese,
>
> and more:
>
> from where he sat
>
> he
>
> could see
>
> the ranked shelves
>
> close-packed with the solid, squat, dynamic shapes
>
>
> of tin cans
>
> whose labels his stomach read,
>
> not from the lettering
>
> which meant nothing to his mind
>
> but from the scarlet devils and the silver
> curve of fish--
>
> this,
>
> the cheese which he knew he smelled
>
> and the hermetic meat
>
> which his intestines believed he smelled
>
> coming in intermittent gusts
>
> momentary and brief
>
> between the other constant one,
>
> the smell and sense
>
> just a little of fear
>
> because mostly of despair and grief,
>
> the old fierce pull of blood.
>
>
>
> The purpose of such a presentation is to make syntax clearer to the reader
> to improve comprehension. Has anyone on the list used such a presentation
> method? Is anyone aware of any research on it? Any thoughts?
>
>
>
> Scott Woods
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
>
>
>
>
> Kimberley Hunt
>
> Instructor, English Dept.
>
> St. Scholastica Academy
>
> 7416 N. Ridge
>
> Chicago, IL 60645
>
> 773-764-5715 x343
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
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>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
--
Don Stewart
Write for College
______________________
Keeper of the memory and method
of Dr. Francis Christensen
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