English Grammar Syllabus ENG 4361 Angelo State University

1. English 4361: English Grammar
Tuesdays and Thursdays 8:00-9:15am A005
Dr. Laurence Musgrove
Office: A010 Email: lmusgrove@angelo.edu
Graduate Requirement for all English Majors: All undergraduate English majors are required to complete a portfolio for
graduation. Portfolios should be submitted after finishing all requirements for the major or during a student’s last
semester. See Department website link “Assessment” for further information.
Course Description – English 4361 English Grammar (3-0). A study of grammar, including grammatical forms and
functions, sentence structure, and diagramming.
English 4361 Learning Outcomes - More specifically, upon completing the course, you should
 be able to identify and perform various sentence elements and strategies,
 know generally accepted methods for teaching sentence elements and strategies,
 know how to analyze short texts according to sentence elements and strategies,
 develop specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field,
 develop creative capacities through writing,
 develop skill in expressing oneself orally or in writing.
Required Texts - Four texts in the editions listed are required by this class. You should bring the text(s) under discussion
to class each day.
1. Sin and Syntax, Constance Hale, Three Rivers Press
2. It was the best of sentences, it was the worst of sentences, June Casagrande, Ten Speed Press
3. Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog, Florey, Harvest Books
4. Owls and Other Fantasies, Oliver, Beacon Press
Final Grade Calculation - Your course grade will be based entirely upon the completed and graded assignments that you
submit at the end of the term. Therefore, it is imperative that you find a method for storing and securing work that has
been graded and returned to you. These ingredients and their point values are listed below. You will find a description
of each ingredient below as well.
POINTS POINTS
ASSIGNMENTS FACTOR TOTAL
POSSIBLE EARNED
History of Grammar and Me 100 10
Thursday Grammar Exams 100 10
Midterm Grammar Exam 100 20
Handmade Responses – Best 20 100 10
My Original Grammar Handbook 100 20
The New History of Grammar and Me 100 10
Final Grammar Exam 100 20
Total 100
Divide Total by 100 =Final Grade
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2. GRADE CONVERSION CHART
Letter Numerical Grade
Grade Equivalent Ranges
A 97 93-100
B 87 84-92
C 77 74-83
D 67 64-73
F 57 0-63
SOME OTHER ISSUES
Absences – The work conducted in class is vital to success in this course. Absences of any kind equivalent to six days
classes will result in failure. If you must miss a class, contact a classmate to get the homework assignment for you or to
turn in your work. Late work will not be accepted under any circumstances. I do not accept work via email. All
assignments must be submitted to receive a passing grade. No incompletes will be given.
Personal Emergencies – Given my experience, I know that sometimes things fall apart. If you encounter a personal
tragedy or some emotional distress that causes you to miss classes, get in touch with me as soon as you can. I don’t need
all of the details, but at least I’ll know you haven’t dropped the class or been eaten by a bear.
Student Athletes and Absences – If you are a student athlete, you will need to provide me with a schedule of classes that
you will miss due to University-sanctioned sporting events.
Academic Honesty - All work composed for this class must be written exclusively for this class and be your original work.
You may of course receive assistance on your writing, but submitting someone else’s work as your own or failing to
acknowledge sources appropriately will be grounds for plagiarism. Violations of academic honesty and plagiarism will
result in failure. Students are responsible for understanding the Academic Honor Code, which is available on the web at
http://www.angelo.edu/forms/pdf/honorcode5.pdf.
Special Requirements: Persons with disabilities that may warrant academic accommodations must contact the Student
Life Office, Room 112 University Center, in order to request such accommodations prior to any being implemented. You
are encouraged to make this request early in the semester so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
MORE ON ASSIGNMENTS
History of Grammar and Me
A narrative of 500 words or more in which students tell their histories as students and writers with an emphasis on their
relationships with sentence grammar and correctness.
Thursday Grammar Exams
Brief grammar exams in which students identify grammatical terms as well as perform sentence strategies.
Midterm Exam
A midterm grammar exam in which students identify grammatical terms as well as perform sentence strategies.
Handmade Responses
Handmade responses are responses to reading assignments. In your handmade response to the assigned reading, draw a
picture on an 8.5 X 11 sheet of plain white paper that creatively and originally represents the author’s purpose or focus of
the reading assignment.
This picture should be a combination of images, words, and colors in the white space of the page. The drawing must be
an original drawing, follow one or more of the twenty-one visual formats, and include no clip art. Whichever handmade
response format you select, your drawing should be presented in landscape format, be effectively developed, and include
at least three colors (black may be one of those colors).
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3. On the reverse of the reading visual in the top left corner, write your name, the date, the name of the reading
assignment, and the name of visual format(s) you are using. Also on the reverse, include at least one brief citation from
the assigned text (along with the parenthetical page reference) that corresponds to your drawing.
Evaluation Criteria for Handmade Responses
5 points: Excellent representation of the author’s purpose or focus, including creative and effective balance of
images, words, and color; excellent and effective idea development; as well as correct citation and page
reference; no errors in sentence, spelling, and usage; adherence to page format for reading response
visuals.
4 points: Good representation of the author’s purpose or focus, including creative and effective balance of
images, words, and color; good and effective idea development; as well as correct citation and page
reference; no errors in sentence, spelling, and usage; adherence to page format for reading response
visuals.
3 points: Same as 4 but with incorrect format for citation, page reference, or page format; or more than two
errors in sentence, spelling, and usage.
1 point: Perfunctory visual response; frequent errors in sentence, spelling, and usage; failure to include adequate
idea development or citation, or to adhere to page format of reading response visuals.
21 Visual Formats for Handmade Responses
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4. My Original Grammar Handbook
Minimum Requirements
A project composed of images, words, color and other visual materials that creatively re-imagines the traditional
sentence grammar handbook.
Your handbook should include entries for at least the following grammatical terms in whatever order you think
appropriate. As is conventional in handbooks, each term should include a definition and examples that
appropriately demonstrate its use. In addition to these contents, the handbook should also include a cover, a
title page, a table of contents with corresponding page numbers, and an introduction.
Words Sentences
 Grammar  The Subject
 Usage  The Predicate
 Nouns  Phrases
 Pronouns o Introductory
 Verbs o Prepositional
 Articles o Appositive
 Adjectives o Participial
 Adverbs o Absolute
 Prepositions  Clauses
 Conjunctions o Relative
o Coordination o Adverb
o Subordination  Simple Sentences
 Interjections  Simple Sentences with Introductory
Phrases
 Compound Sentences
 Run-Ons and Comma Splices
 Complex Sentences
 Semi-colon
 Compound-Complex Sentences
 Fragments
Evaluation Criteria for My Original Grammar Handbook
A: Exceeds minimum requirements of assignment with virtually no errors in definitions, examples, and
presentation.
B: Fulfills minimum requirements of assignment with virtually no errors in definitions, examples, and
presentation.
C: Fulfills minimum requirements of assignment with unnecessary errors in definitions, examples, and
presentation.
D: Fails to fulfill minimum requirements of assignment.
The New History of Grammar and Me
An essay of 1000 words or more in which students review the first essays they wrote for this class and then describe the
ways in which this course has affected their relationships with sentence grammar and correctness.
Final Exam
A grammar exam in which students identify grammatical terms as well as perform sentence strategies.
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5. Name ____________________
Narrative Evaluation Criteria
an implicit yet emotionally clear and appropriate focus
rich, lively, and original detail, including dialogue appropriate for purpose
narrative logic (plot, conflict, turning point) clearly flows from one episode to the next
transitions and paragraphing are clearly supportive of organization
A
a tone appropriate to the aim of the essay
stylistic concision, maturity and confident facility with language as demonstrated by strong transitions, sentence variety,
figurative language, and appropriate word choice
virtually free of surface and usage errors
an implicit yet emotionally clear and appropriate focus
rich and lively detail, including dialogue appropriate for purpose
narrative logic flows from one episode to the next
B transitions and paragraphing are clearly supportive of organization
a tone appropriate to the aim of the essay
lacks the stylistic concision, maturity, transitions, and facility with language of an A essay
largely free of surface and usage errors
unnecessary moralizing in introduction or conclusion
unnecessary meta-discourse signaling in introduction and transitions
detail and dialogue may at times be clichéd or perfunctory
narrative logic is flawed
C
occasional organizational and developmental weakness
a tone appropriate to the aim of the essay
lack of sentence concision, variety, facility with language, and word choice expected in upper-division English course
a pattern or two of surface and usage errors
unnecessary moralizing in introduction or conclusion
unnecessary meta-discourse signaling in introduction and transitions
detail and dialogue is clichéd or perfunctory
narrative logic is flawed
D
obvious organizational and developmental weakness
a tone inappropriate to the aim of the assignment and audience
lack of sentence variety, facility with language, and word choice expected in upper-division English course
unnecessary errors in sentence, spelling, and usage demonstrating failure to proofread
unnecessary moralizing in introduction or conclusion
unnecessary meta-discourse signaling in introduction and transitions
detail and dialogue is clichéd or perfunctory
narrative logic is flawed
F
occasional organizational and developmental weakness
a tone appropriate to the aim of the essay
lack of sentence variety, facility with language, and word choice
unnecessary errors in sentence, spelling, and usage demonstrating failure to proofread
Projects receiving no grade will
fail to address the topic or assignment,
No evaluation fail to fulfill other requirements of the assignment,
or show evidence of plagiarism.
Comments
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7. Creating Titles
1. Copy out of your draft a sentence that could serve as a title.
2. Write a title that is a question beginning with What, Who, When, or Where. (Where Do Titles Come From?)
3. Write a title that is a question beginning with How or Why. (Why Are Titles Necessary?)
4. Write a title that is a question beginning with Is/Are, Do/Does, or Will. (Are Some Titles Better Than Others?)
5. Pick out of the draft some concrete image – something the reader can hear, see, taste, smell, or feel – to use as a
title.
6. Pick another concrete image out of the draft. Look for an image that is a bit unusual or surprising.
7. Writing a title that begins with an –ing verb (Creating a Good Title).
8. Writing a title beginning with On (On Creating Good Titles).
9. Write a title that is a lie about the draft. (You probably won’t use this one, but it might stimulate your thinking.)
10. Write a one-word title – the most obvious one possible.
11. Write a less obvious one-word title.
12. Think of a familiar saying, or the title of a book, song, or movie, that might fit your draft.
13. Take the title you just wrote and twist it by changing a word or creating a pun on it.
14. Find two titles you’ve written so far that you might use together in a double title. Join them together with a colon.
from “Twenty Titles for the Writer” by Richard Leahy, College Composition and Communication, Vol. 43, No. 4, December
1992
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8. Tentative Schedule
Tuesday Thursday
Week 1 1/15 1/17
In-Class Activities Introductions Basic Vocabulary of Sentences
Reading Due Hale: Foreword, Introduction, Chapter 1
Writing Due GRAMMAR DIAGNOSTIC ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT DUE
Week 2 1/22 1/24
In-Class Activities Eight Basic Sentence Strategies Simple Sentences
Reading Due Hale: Chapter 2 Hale: Chapter 3
Writing Due “HISTORY OF GRAMMAR AND ME” DUE
Week 3 1/29 1/31
In-Class Activities Compound Sentences Compound Sentences with Semi-Colons
Reading Due Hale: Chapters 4-5 Hale: Chapter 6
Week 4 2/5 2/7
In-Class Activities Subordinate Clauses Complex Sentences with Adverb Clauses
Reading Due Hale: Chapters 7-8 Hale: Chapter 9
Week 5 2/12 2/14
In-Class Activities Sentence-Combining Exercise 1 Sentence-Combining Exercise 2
Reading Due Hale: Chapter 10 Hale: Chapter 11
Week 6 2/19 2/21
In-Class Activities Sentence-Combining Exercise 3 Compound-Complex Sentences
Reading Due Hale: Chapter 12 Casagrande: Introduction and Chapter 1
Week 7 2/26 2/28
In-Class Activities Sentence-Combining Exercise 4 Sentence Unscrambling Exercise 1
Reading Due Casagrande: Chapters 2-4 Casagrande: Chapters 5-7
Week 8 3/5 3/7
In-Class Activities Sentence Unscrambling Exercise 2
Reading Due Casagrande: Chapters 8-10 MIDTERM EXAM
Week 9 3/12 3/14
BREAK NO CLASSES NO CLASSES
Week 10 3/19 3/21
In-Class Activities Effective Intentional Fragment Editing Unpunctuated Paragraph 1
Reading Due Casagrande: Chapters 11-13 Casagrande: Chapters 14-16
Week 11 3/26 3/28
In-Class Activities Editing Unpunctuated Paragraph 2 Complex Sentences with Adjective Clauses
Reading Due Casagrande: Chapters 17-19 Casagrande: Chapters 20-21
Week 12 4/2 4/4
In-Class Activities Sentence-Combining Exercise 5 Complex Sentences with Noun Clauses
Reading Due Florey: Chapter 1 Florey: Chapter 2
Week 13 4/9 4/11
In-Class Activities Four Basic Modifying Phrases Appositive Phrases
Reading Due Florey: Chapter 3 Florey: Chapter 4
Week 14 4/16 4/18
In-Class Activities Participial Phrases
Reading Due Florey: Chapter 5
Writing Due MY ORIGINAL GRAMMAR HANDBOOK DUE
Week 15 4/23 4/25
In-Class Activities Absolute Phrases Adjectives Out-of-Order
Reading Due Florey: Chapter 6 Florey: Chapter 7
Week 16 4/30 5/2
In-Class Activities Editing Unpunctuated Paragraph 3 REVIEW
Reading Due
Week 17 5/7 5/9
FINALS WEEK “THE NEW HISTORY OF GRAMMAR AND ME”
DUE AND FINAL EXAM @ 8am
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9. Academic Performance Agreement
English 4361
Musgrove
In order to make the requirements of this class and your responsibilities as a student as clear as possible, I’ve created this
document titled “Academic Performance Agreement.” Please read this information carefully because it outlines the kinds
of behaviors, study habits, and attitudes necessary for success in this class, as well as in the University community at
large. If you agree to the terms and conditions set forth below, please sign your name and provide me a copy. By signing
and returning this agreement to me, you commit yourself to the standards of conduct and academic performance listed
below.
1. I understand that attendance is a requirement of the class and that 6 absences of any sort will result in automatic
failure. I also understand that if I miss class that I should contact another student to discover what I’ve missed.
2. If I miss more than one class in sequence, I will contact the professor to let him know the reasons for my
absences.
3. I understand that arriving late to class is inappropriate because it disrupts the class. I understand that the
instructor will shut the door to the classroom when the class starts and that I will not attempt to enter the class
after the door has been closed.
4. I understand that cell phones must be turned off before entering class. I understand if my cell phone rings during
class I will be asked to leave the class.
5. I understand that laptops are to be shut down when the class begins.
6. I understand that this class has substantial reading and writing requirements. These requirements will demand
that I manage my time carefully and schedule at least 6 hours of study time per week or 2 hours of study time for
every one hour of scheduled class time.
7. I understand that I should be prepared each day to bring the text under discussion with me to class.
8. I understand that I should be prepared each day to share my responses to the reading assignments in class.
9. I understand that I will be required to contribute to class discussions and small group work in class. In other
words, I will be required to speak in class, share my ideas, and respect the ideas of others.
10. I understand that any writing I submit must be my own and written exclusively for this class.
11. I understand that when I use the ideas of others in my writing that I must let my readers know whose ideas are
whose and where I found them. I understand that plagiarism (or the failure to acknowledge the ideas of others
appropriately) is a form of academic dishonesty and will result in failure.
12. I understand that I will benefit from discussing my ideas and writing with my family, friends, and other students.
I also understand that I can get help with my ideas and writing in the Writing Center. However, I also understand
that I should never claim someone else’s ideas or writing as my own.
13. I understand that I must adhere to the due dates for all writing assignments because late work will not be
accepted or penalized, at the discretion of the instructor.
14. I understand that I should think of writing as a complex process of planning, drafting, revising, editing, and
presentation. Consequently, I understand that I should schedule time to complete each of these tasks before
submitting my work.
15. I understand that I can make an appointment with my instructor to talk about any aspect of the class, including
course assignments, my writing, the required reading, extended absences or comments and grades on my
writing.
Student Signature _______________________________________Date _________________________
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