In academic writing, formal structure and prescriptive grammar are utilized for a variety of reasons: to convey ideas clearly, to seem professional, to demonstrate our level of education and vocabulary, to allow a benchmark for grading, and because it is simply the way people are taught in school. However, do these current measures truly have a place in academia? Do these standards harm more than they help? And is the way we teach writing truly the optimal way? There are many reasons why the current standards for academic writing should become more flexible. Current academic writing standards hinder creativity, limit students from underfunded schools and communities, and cater to the able-bodied (both mentally and physically). Because of these …show more content…
A big contender in this argument is that prescriptive grammar is too strict, and that because most people communicate using descriptive grammar, students should be allowed to write academically the way they would speak. Descriptive grammar refers to the “set of grammatical rules based on what we say, not on what we should say according to some language authority” while prescriptive grammar refers to the “set of grammatical rules prescribed by a language authority” (Denham and Lobeck 10). Given these definitions, prescriptive grammar seems too strict to allow the natural flow of speech and therefore allow students to clearly write what they are thinking. Denham and Lobeck say in our textbook that “many prescriptive rules are simply unnatural; they don’t conform to rules of natural language and can be learned only consciously” …show more content…
The fact that a student cannot grasp the strict rules is no fault of their own, but rather seems to be attributed to the ones teaching them. Let the record show that this paper is in no way devaluating teachers, but instead showing the flaws in the education system in general. Prescriptive language’s role in education is ableist. Learning disabilities in regards to learning written language are often treated as a failure of the student due to their laziness or ineptitude, rather than acknowledging their struggles with strict rules such as the ones set in place for academic and formal writing. This phenomena has been cataloged by many researchers, including one thorough project done by the University of Iowa. In that study, researchers discovered that Learning disability (LD) has come to be seen as poor achievement in key aspects of learning having to do with spoken language, written language, and/or mathematics that occur in the context of normal opportunities to learn and in the absence of developmental (autism or mental retardation) or sensory disorders. (Tomblin
My English 1310 course was taught by Professor Daniel Stuart. He taught us the concept of academic writing and why it is important. Academic writing is the process of down ideas, using a formal tone, deductive reasoning and third person. Writing done to carry out the requirements of a college or university on a research based level. It requires a starting point or introduction, followed by a thesis on the preferred topic, then comes proving and disproving of the evidence based arguments. Learning academic writing is important because it is a way to communicate our thoughts clearly and originality. It helps us think and see what evidence we can come up to contribute to that thinking. This course approached this idea of academic writing by
Eve... ... middle of paper ... ..., K., Milczarski, E., & Raby, C. (2011). The Assessment of English Language Learners with Learning Disabilities: Issues, Concerns, and Implications. Education, 131(4), 732-739.
Vogel, S. A. and M. Moran. "Written language disorders in learning disabled college students - a preliminary report." In Coming of Age: The Best of ACLD - 1982. Eds. W. Cruickshank and J. Lerner. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1982.
The writing process is always taught as a set way of doing things when, in fact, it is a process that requires personal methods that work for each individual person. It is a necessary lesson to teach in school but there should not be so much emphasis on following the exact way that is taught. It is a contrived process that was probably created by a group of scholars who didn’t even follow these exact rules. If anything, they all did variations of the ideas and then met in the middle with what should be taught. I am in no way saying that the guidelines are wrong but they need to be exactly that, guidelines, instead of a rut that students get stuck in.
A learning disability is defined as any one of various conditions that interfere with an individual's ability to learn, resulting in impaired functioning in language, reasoning, or academic skills. The National Center for Learning Disabilities explains it as a neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to receive process, store and respond to information. Basically, among people with learning disabilities there is a noticeable gap between their level of expected achievement and their actual achievement. Doctors and professionals agree there is no way to pin-point any specific causes for learning disabilities. The NCLD says some possible causes may include heredity, problems during pregnancy or birth, head injuries or nutritional deprivation after birth, and exposure to toxic substances.
Santa Barbara, CA: Learning Works, 1996. Print. The. Girod, Christina M. Learning Disabilities. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 2001. Print.
Students with learning disabilities can learn; each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on the strengths of each student and building on them, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying the weakness is at the core of getting a student help with their learning disability, but after this initial identification and placement, the focus should shift to the strengths and adjusting the student’s schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For instance, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his or her hands, the students' reading tasks should then be shifted to reflect these st...
The impact of having a learning disability are lifelong. A student with a learning disability may always need extra help to get through certain aspects of life after they graduate high school. If the student is going to college accommodations and specific learning strategies will need to be used to help them through their courses. Their personal lives may also be affected due to a learning disability. “For example, Johnson and Blalock found that, of the 93 adults studied in an LD clinic sample, 36% continued to receive counseling or psychotherapy for low self-esteem, social isolation, anxiety, depression, and frustration.” (1987) The difficulties associated with learning disabilities can affect them daily and their past experiences with it can follow them into adulthood and bring up unhappy memories of struggling with learning disabilities as a child.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
specific learning disabilities in the United States of America. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 10(1), 21-26.
Many students struggle with learning disabilities. Two common disabilities are Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. “According to the latest dyslexia research from the National Institutes of Health, Dyslexia affects 20 percent of Americans” (“What is Dyslexia?”) Dysgraphia is difficulty with writing that sometimes accompanies Dyslexia. Students that have Dyslexia and Dysgraphia will struggle with vocabulary, grammar, and punctuation, but there is help.
The classroom is a diverse place where learners from all different genres of life meet. Included in these learners are those that display learning disabilities. According to the British Columbia School Superintendent’s Association, ‘learning disabilities refer to a number of conditions that might affect the acquisition, organization, retention, understanding or use of verbal or nonverbal information. These disorders affect learning in individuals who otherwise demonstrate at least average abilities essential for thinking and/or reasoning’. They also posit that ‘learning disabilities result from impairments in one or more processes related to perceiving, thinking, remembering or learning. These include, but are not limited to language processing,
My English 1310 course was taught by Professor Daniel Stuart. He taught us the concept of academic writing and why it is important. Academic writing is the process of breaking down ideas, using a formal tone, deductive reasoning and third person. Writing done to carry out the requirements of a college or university on a research based level. It requires a starting point or introduction, followed by a thesis on the preferred topic, then comes proving and disproving of the evidence based arguments. It is important because it is a way to communicate our thoughts clearly and originality. It helps us think and see what evidence we can come up to contribute to that thinking. This course approached this idea of academic writing by exploring further
When grammar is put to use in a society, people will often have different beliefs at what is the "right" or "proper" usage. This had led to the formation of two widely accepted forms of grammar, Prescriptivism and Descriptivism. These forms will often separate those who believe their form of grammar is the only correct way from those who use many forms they find to be acceptable. Descriptive grammar is formed by analyzing how speakers use a language, and deducing the rules they follow. Linguists create descriptive grammars in order to understand language more deeply. They understand that a single language can have multiple dialects, and that each dialect will have its own grammatical rules--internally
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.