Allison,
In spite of my preference for a reference grammar, I have used Martha's UEG and her Rhetorical Grammar in several different editions, and I found that students respond well to them.
As to graduate school, certainly the advice you've already received is good. For post-secondary teaching concentrate on what the English Department offers. Probably your program offers courses on college level teaching in composition, in literature, and in creative writing. Take these courses and, if at all possible, TA in all three areas, but especially in composition. If your program has some sort of TPrep program in which a semester is spent as a TA in microteaching, observation, group discussion, etc., make sure you take advantage of that. This teaching background will be one of the strongest items on your CV when you hit the job market. Make sure you take every opportunity to present papers at conferences and to publish. In an English department such a record counts for a great deal as well. And even if you don't present a paper, if you can make it at all to an MLA, CCCC, NCTE, etc., or their regional conferences, don't pass up the opportunity, and network as if every party served the best pizza available. If you can get involved in team research projects, whether with other students or as an RA with a faculty member, jump at the chance. The research experience will be invaluable, as will the publications. And take some linguistics courses. Certainly a language and culture, language and gender, or sociolinguistics course. It will disabuse you of a lot of opinions on language that are all too widespread in the profession. We require courses like that of all our UG English majors and of our Composition graduate students. But, while you're at it, pick up a history of the English language course (acronym HEL). It'll help you put a lot of things about English into a clearer perspective.
All the best as you pursue your studies and your career!
Herb Stahlke, Director
Graduate Programs in English
Ball State University
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Allison Rose
Sent: Thu 5/25/2006 3:49 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Favorite Textbooks?
"Understanding English Grammar" by Martha Kolln and Mr. Funk (can't remember
his first name); I used this book in my college grammar class and it's what
got me hooked.
There's also a book out there that I haven't read yet, but would like to get
my hands on one of these days: "Grammar for Writers," I think it's called.
Was this one already mentioned? Sorry if I'm restating.
In other news, I'm a college graduate now! Hooray! Now I get to start grad
school! Sort of hooray (but I'm looking forward to it). I wanted to ask
those of you who are professors or who have thought about becoming
professors a question: what certifications do I need? I know I should
probably know all this by now, but I'm just an English major with no
education concentration, so I've sort of gone around the central core of
"teaching requirements" on a clover-leaf interstate thing of some sort. That
made no sense; ack. But I need to know what exactly I must "acquire," as it
were, to become a professor of English, preferably Creative Writing, or a
writing center director/assistant director. I'm enrolled for my Master's
degree and plan on continuing to a Ph.D., but I'm not sure where to go from
there. Help?
- Allison
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