The course is designed for those who will be professionally concerned with writing. It aims to provide a standard framework for identifying and authoritatively discussing the grammatical forms and constructions of Written English that they will be employing in their work. The course will involve some theoretical linguistic study as well as practice in the parsing of sentences, recognition of types of constituents in the sentence, and control of the standard grammatical terminology. The concern throughout is with an explicit understanding of principles of sentence structure, i.e., grammar, as the essential basis of good professional writing and as a prerequisite for informed leadership in professional writing settings. Class meetings are devoted to explanation, grammatical analysis, and exercises, requiring careful preparation. There will be two major examinations (midterm and final), and two tests, upon which grades will be assessed. Text: Paul Hopper, A Short Course in Grammar. (W.W. Norton)
