If you want your students to master the rules of good written
grammar, the simplest place to start is with bad grammar.
There are three classic research studies into grammar and other
writing mechanics errors that writing teachers should read: one
by Maxine Hairston in 1981, another by Connors and Lunsford in
1988, and its update by Lunsford and Lunsford in 2008.
The studies are applicable to speech as well as writing and have
some value in preparing students for grammar tests, too.
Note: You may use the JSTOR link on this site's search
page to find journal articles.
Hairston (1981)
Hairston set out to discover what kinds of errors in writing
and speaking professional people regarded as most serious.
Hairston sent out 101 surveys consisting of 65 sentences containing
a grammatical error. She grouped errors into five categories according
to how serious the 84 respondents considered them to be.
Hairston's respondents were most upset by a class of errors she
called status marking errors. Such errors may not prevent
writers and speakers from being understood, but they mark people
who use them as poorly educated, low income, and low social status.
Professionals had a very negative reaction to types of errors
which teachers may not target for remediation—errors that
don't appear as items on standardized tests and may not appear
in students' writing. The errors do, however, appear often in
speech.
Examples of status-marking errors that caused Hairston's respondents
to wince are:
- He brung his cell phone to class.
- If I had went to class, I woudn't have failed.
- We was in the cafeteria.
- He don't like it when I wear my pants down low.
- I didn't do nothing.
- Him and me were just sitting there.
Hairston's research also found that professionals regarded as
serious errors such things as failure to capitalize proper nouns,
faulty parallelism, and using would of instead of would
have.
Why Hairston's research matters
Although Hairston's study is almost 40 years old, it is still
important enough to be quoted at length on the
North Carolina website discussion of the state's language
arts curriculum.
Hairston's research is significant because it indicates that
managerial-level people have a different idea of what is essential
grammar than do many teachers. Their opinions matter because failure
to train students to meet the essential grammar expectations of
managers may seriously impact students' employment opportunities
and influence businesses' attitudes toward funding of public education.
Connors and Lunsford (1988)
In 1988, Connors and Lunsford examined 3,000 papers by college
students submitted by over 300 college instructors to see what
errors appeared most often in final drafts submitted for grading.
Spelling errors were the most common type of writing mechanics
error. Because of the diversity of the words mispelled, the
researchers did not tally each spelling error. The researchers
identified the top
20 separate, specific errors in college students' writing
other than spelling.
Lunsford and Lunsford (2008)
When researchers conducted the same experiment 30 years later,
they found roughly the same number of errors (just over 2 errors
per 100 words), but a somewhat different top 20 list of errors.
Errors identified in the later study were often related to changes
in the kind of paper—contemporary writing stresses researched,
persuasive/argument papers whereas 30 years earlier narrative
predominated—and to the increased use of computer writing
aids. Computer aids like spell check result increase errors,
which is why editing is a essential grammar skill for our texting
students.
Why the Lunsford studies matter
Both the Connors and Lunford (1988) study and the Lunsford and
Lunsford study (2008) provide lists of errors in student writing.
From those lists (which are very specific), you can create lists
of essential grammar to teach to mastery level.
Citations
Connors, R. J. & Lunsford, A. A. (1988). Frequency
of formal errors in current college writing, or Ma and Pa Kettle
do research. College Composition and Communication, 39,
395-409.
Hairston, M. (1981). Not all errors are created
equal: Nonacademic readers in the professions respond to lapses
in usage. College English. 43, 794-806.
Lunsford, A. A. and Lunsford, K. J. (2008). “Mistakes
Are a Fact of Life”: A National Comparative Study. College
Composition and Communication, 59, 781-806.
You
can access a copy of the 2008 Lunsford and Lunsford study at the
Bedford St.Martins website.
