A Case for Pedagogic Writing Instruction for Pre-Service Teachers to Learn Applied Grammar in the Context of Their Own Writing

Revived interest in grammar as a tool to teach writing is a phenomenon of the 21st century since inquiry in the 50s determined it to have “no positive impact on” writing instruction (Locke, 2005; Qtd. in McCormack-Colbert, Ware, & Jones, 2018, p. 165). Yet in the past two and a half decades, the concepts of Contextualized Grammar and Pedagogic Grammar have earned recognition in English and Language Education as a new kind of instruction shown to enhance writing when providing learners strategic mini lessons in grammar. This article also proposes the converse: in a college grammar course, strategic writing instruction assists students to learn grammar and usage in an applied setting of creating, revising, and editing their own texts. This article first reviews the premises and bases for the reappearance of grammar to teach writing and then describes the writer’s parallel approach to grammar instruction through the strategic use of writing assignments referred to here as Pedagogic Writing. The article closes with an account of the performances and perceptions of pre-service teachers sent to English by the School of Education to take ENG G 207, Grammar and Usage, showing preliminarily their successful application across three semesters, from spring 2020 through spring 2021.

Revising with Metacognition to Promote Writing Achievement

This study examined the relationship between metacognitive revision and writing achievement. Since American students often have had little strategic writing instruction in high school, they frequently come to college as non-proficient writers. By focusing on self-improvement rather than agonizing over the quality of the final product, struggling writers’ fears and lack of confidence can be mitigated, allowing growth. Requiring students to revise their essays and explain these revisions may influence the likelihood of completing the stages of the writing process, including using feedback. Results indicated that students who received high scores in revision explanations often received higher scores on the final essays than their peers. Additionally, from the pre- to post-intervention attitudinal survey, student responses showed more positive feelings about writing, increased confidence in ability and self-efficacy, and greater interest in providing feedback to classmates. Despite these gains, fewer students at the end of the semester felt that feedback, revision and reflection affected their writing performance, suggesting feelings of frustration at the multi-faceted process.