Abstract:
This thesis explores the roles grammar has played with respect to composition instruction
to determine what roles it can play and what needs it can satisfy for composition students
today. Different types of grammar and the various methods of teaching them are
discussed to in order to contextualize the ongoing debate regarding the role grammar
should play in the composition classroom. Further contextualization of the debate is
provided by tracing the relevant histories of both sides to where they presently stand.
Answers to a questionnaire were collected from a small sample size of George Mason
University composition instructors to determine their experiences with and attitudes
toward grammar as a subject and grammar instruction in their own classrooms. This
snapshot depicts a set of instructors willing to teach—and occasionally even enthusiastic
about teaching—grammar in their composition classrooms, but ill-prepared to do so.
Finally, positive and productive methods of teaching grammar are introduced to provide
these current and future composition instructors with solid grounds for the inclusion of
grammar in their classrooms and suggestions for how to incorporate it to the benefit of
their students.
