"Paul E. Doniger" wrote:
> For the record, last year, when I tried to teach my students the basics of
> diagramming sentences, I learned that most of them hated it, but a few of
> them learned something from it. I did NOT try to make it affect their
> writing directly - this is one area where I suspect the research is
> acurate. I simply wanted them to understand how sentences were put
> together, and to THINK about it. But my attempt was, I think, unsuccessful
> for most of my students.
Whenever I read a comment like this I wonder what the person is defining
by influencing their writing. What did you expect the diagramming of sentences
to improve in your students writing?
Bob Yates