Staff

Publication details for Dr Sue Beverton

Andrews, R., Torgerson, C., Beverton, S., Freeman, A., Locke, T., Low, G., Robinson, A. & Zhu, D. (2004). The Effect of Grammar Teaching (sentence combining) in English on 5 to 16 year olds' accuracy and quality in written composition. EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. London, University of London, Institute of Education.

• Publication type: Reports: official
• View online: Online version
• Durham research online: DRO record

Author(s) from Durham

• Dr Sue Beverton

Abstract

For over a century, there has been debate as to whether the teaching of grammar helps young people to learn to write well. The results have been inconclusive, partly because some parties in the debate have refused to acknowledge research evidence that suggests that the teaching of formal grammar (syntax, parts of speech) in a top-down approach is ineffective; partly because some of the research has been difficult to access and partly because previous studies and reviews have not been sufficiently comprehensive to answer the question of effectiveness conclusively. It is against this background that two in-depth reviews have been undertaken: one on the teaching of formal grammar (syntax), already published as Andrews et al. (2004) and the present review on the teaching of sentence combining.

References

Abrahamson RF (1977) The effects of formal grammar instruction vs the effects of sentence combining instruction on student writing: a collection of evaluative abstracts of pertinent research documents. Unpublished research report. Houston, TX, USA: University of Houston.
Amiran E, Mann J (1982) Written composition, grades K–12: literature synthesis and report. Portland, OR, USA: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. ERIC document number ED213034.
Asher W (1990) Educational psychology, research methodology, and meta-analysis. Educational Psychologist 25: 143–158.
Bamberg B (1981) Making research work for the composition teacher. Paper presented at the Meeting of the Southland Council of Teachers of English. Los Angeles, CA, USA: October 10. ERIC document number ED208408.
Crowhurst M (1980) The effect of syntactic complexity on writing quality: a review of research. Unpublished research report. British Columbia: University of British Columbia. ERIC document number ED202024.
Elley WB (1994) Grammar teaching and language skill. In: Asher R (ed.) Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford: Pergamon (pages 1468–1471).
Gann M (1984) Teaching grammar: is structural linguistics really better? English Quarterly 17: 31–53.
Hillocks G Jr (1984) What works in teaching composition: a meta-analysis of experimental treatment studies. American Journal of Education 93: 133–170.
Hillocks G Jr (1986) Research on Written Composition: New Directions for Teaching. Urbana, IL, USA: National Council of Teachers of English. ERIC document number ED265552.
Hudson R (2000) Grammar teaching and writing skills: the research evidence. London: University College London. Available from: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/writing.htm
Kolln M (1996) Rhetorical grammar: a modification lesson. English Journal 85: 25–31.
Lawlor J (1980) Improving student writing through sentence combining: a literature review. Technical note. Los Alamitos, CA, USA: Southwest Regional Laboratory for Educational Research and Development. ERIC document number ED192356.
Matzen RN Jr, Zhang W-S, Hartwell P (1995) The role of traditional grammar instruction in the teaching of writing: a selected, annotated bibliography. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication. Washington, DC, USA: March 23–25. ERIC document number ED396328.
Newkirk T (1978) Grammar instruction and writing: what we don’t know. Close-up: grammar and composition. English Journal 67: 46–48.
Ney JW (1980) A short history of sentence combining: its limitations and use. English Education 11: 169–177.
Phillips SE (1996) Sentence combining: a literature review. Unpublished research report. Dallas, TX, USA: University of Texas. ERIC document number ED398589.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) (1998a) Recent Research on Grammar Teaching. Hayes, Middlesex: QCA Publications.
Seidenberg PL (1989) Relating text-processing research to reading and writing instruction for learning disabled students. Learning Disabilities Focus 5: 4–12.
Sternglass MS (1979) Creating the memory of unheard sentences. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the South Eastern Conference on English in the Two-Year College. Orlando, Florida, USA: February 8–10. ERIC document number ED176258.
Stewart MF (1979) Sentence-combining: its past, present and future. English Quarterly 12: 21–36.
Stotsky SL (1975) Sentence-combining as a curricular activity: its effect on written language development and reading comprehension. Research in the Teaching of English 9: 30–71.
Tomlinson D (1994) Errors in the research into the effectiveness of grammar teaching. English in Education 28: 20–26.
Ulin RO, Schlerman BJ (1978) For the sake of teaching writing, deliver us from traditional grammar. High School Journal 62: 58–68.
Walsh SM (1991) Breakthroughs in composition instruction methods without evidence of tangible improvements in students’ composition: when will change come? Paper presented at the Annual Spring Conference of the National Conference of Teachers of English. Indianapolis, IN, USA: March 14–16. ERIC document number ED336744.
White RS, Karl H (1980) Reading, writing and sentence combining: the track record. Reading Improvement 17: 226–232.
Wyse D (2001) Grammar. For writing? A critical review of empirical evidence. British Journal of Educational Studies 49: 411–427.
Aulls MW (2003) The influence of a reading and writing curriculum on transfer learning across subjects and grades. Reading Psychology 24: 177–215.
Bateman DR, Zidonis FJ (1966) The Effect of A Study of Transformational Grammar on the Writing of Ninth and Tenth Graders. Urbana, IL, USA: National Council of Teachers of English.
Calkins LM (1979) When children want to punctuate: basic skills belong in context. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Language Arts in the Elementary School. Hartford, Connecticut, USA: March 23–25. ERIC document number ED170766.
Calkins LM (1980) When children want to punctuate: basic skills belong in context. Language Arts 57: 567–573.
Combs WE (1976) Further effects of sentence-combining practice on writing ability. Research in the Teaching of English 10: 137–149.
Combs WE (1977) Sentence-combining practice: do gains in judgments of writing ‘quality’ persist? Journal of Educational Research 70: 318–321.
Combs WE, Wilhelmsen K (1979) In-class ‘action’ research benefits research, teacher and students. High School Journal 62: 267–271.
Elley WB, Barham IH, Lamb H, Wyllie M (1975) The role of grammar in a secondary school curriculum. New Zealand Council for Educational Studies 10: 26–41.
Elley WB, Barham IH, Lamb H, Wyllie M (1979) The Role of Grammar in a Secondary School Curriculum. Educational Research Series No 60. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. ERIC document number ED185588.
Fogel H, Ehri LC (2000) Teaching elementary students who speak black English vernacular to write in standard English: effects of dialect transformation practice. Contemporary Educational Psychology 25: 212–235.
Gordon CJ (1990) Contexts for expository text structure use. Reading Research and Instruction 29: 55–72.
Green S, Sutton P (2003) What do children think as they plan their writing? Reading: Literacy and Language 37: 32–38.
Hilfman T (1970) Can second grade children write more complex sentences? Elementary English 47: 209–214.
Holdich CE, Chung PWH, Holdich RG (2004) Improving children’s written grammar and style: revising and editing with HARRY. Computers and Education 42: 1–23
Hunt KW, O’Donnell R (1970) An Elementary School Curriculum to Develop Better Writing Skills. Washington DC: Office of Education, Bureau of Research.
MacNeill TB (1982) The effect of sentence-combining practice on the development of reading comprehension and the written syntactic skills of ninth grade students. Unpublished research report. Alberta: University of Alberta. ERIC document number ED217415.
McAfee D (1981) Effect of Sentence Combining on Fifth Grade Reading and Writing Achievement. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Dallas, TX, USA: December 2–5. ERIC document number ED217388.
McNeill JH (1994) Instruction for deaf students in syntactic cohesion. Acehi Journal/Revue Aceda 20: 88–95.
Mellon J (1969) Transformational Sentence Combining. Research Report No. 10. Urbana, IL, USA: National Council of Teachers of English.
Melvin MP (1980) The effects of sentence combining instruction on syntactic maturity, reading achievement, and language arts skills achievement. Unpublished research report. Oxford, OH, USA: Miami University. ERIC document ED191007.
Miller BD, Ney JW (1967) Oral drills and writing improvement in the fourth grade. Journal of Experimental Education 36: 93–99.
Miller BD, Ney JW (1968) The effect of systematic oral exercises on the writing of fourth-grade students. Research in the Teaching of English 2: 44–61.
Ney JW (1976) Sentence combining and reading. Unpublished research report. Tempe, AZ, USA: Arizona State University. ERIC document number ED161080.
Nutter N, Safran SP (1983) Sentence combining and the learning disabled student. Unpublished research report. Athens, OH, USA: Ohio University. ERIC document number ED252994.
O’Hare F (1973) Sentence Combining: Improving Student Writing without Formal Grammar Instruction. Research Report No 15. Urbana, IL, USA: National Council of Teachers of English.
Pedersen EL (1978) Sentence-combining practice: training that improves student writing. Unpublished research report. Utah: Weber State College. ERIC document number ED169567.
Roberts CM, Boggase BA (1992) Non-intrusive grammar in writing. Paper presented to the Annual Conference on Computers and Writing. Indianapolis, USA: May 1–3. ERIC document number ED348684.
Robinson CF (1978) An investigation of new rhetoric lessons for improved written composition on the secondary school level. Unpublished research report. Hartford, CT, USA: Hartford Public School System. ERIC document number ED188196.
Rousseau MK (1989) Increasing the use of compound predicates in the written compositions of students with mild learning handicaps. Paper presented at the annual convention of the association for behaviour analysis, Nashville, TN, USA: May. ERIC document number ED342154.
Rousseau MK, Poulson CL (1985) Using sentence-combining to teach the use of adjectives in writing to severely behaviorally disordered students. Unpublished research report. New York: City University of New York. ERIC document number ED342153.
Saddler B, Graham S (forthcoming) The effects of peer-assisted sentence combining instruction on the writing performance of more and less skilled young writers. Journal of Educational Psychology.
Satterfield J, Powers A (1996) Write on! Journals open to success. Perspectives in Education and Deafness 15: 2–5.
Stock R (1980) The effect of teaching sentence patterns on the written sentence structures of grade two children. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Plains Regional Conference of the International Reading Association, Bismark ND, USA: September 25–27. ERIC document number ED208414.
Stoddard EP, Renzulli JS (1983) Improving the writing skills of talent pool students. Gifted Child Quarterly 27: 21–27.
Stone AK, Serwatka TS (1982) Reducing syntactic errors in written responses of a retarded adolescent through oral patterning. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities 17: 71–74.
Thompson CL, Middleton M (1973) Transformational grammar and inductive teaching as determinants of structurally complex writing. California Journal of Educational Research 24: 28–41.
Vitale MR, King FJ, Shontz DW, Huntley GM (1971) Effect of sentence-combining exercises upon several restricted written composition tasks. Journal of Educational Psychology 62: 521–525.
Welch M (1992) The PLEASE strategy: a metacognitive learning strategy for improving the paragraph writing of students with mild learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly 15: 119–128.
Andrews R, Burn A, Leach J, Locke T, Low G, Torgerson C (2002) A systematic review of the impact of networked ICT on 5-16 year olds’ literacy in English. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Available from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/review_groups/english/eng_rv1/eng_rv1.pdf
Andrews R, Torgerson C, Beverton S, Locke T, Low G, Robinson A, Zhu D (2004) The effect of grammar teaching (syntax) in English on 5 to 16 year olds’
accuracy and quality in written composition. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Available from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/review_groups/english/eng_rv6/eng_rv6.pdf
Asker W (1923) Does knowledge of formal grammar function? School and Society 27th January: 109–111.
Benfer M (1935) Sentence sense in relation to subject and predicate. Unpublished Master’s thesis. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa.
Boraas J (1917) Formal grammar and the practical mastery of English. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota.
Braddock R, Lloyd-Jones R and Schoer L (1963) Research on Written Composition. Illinois, USA: National Council of Teachers of English.
Burn A, Leach J (2004) A systematic review of the impact of ICT on the learning of literacies associated with moving image texts in English, 5-16. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Available from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/review_groups/english/eng_rv5/eng_rv5.pdf
Catherwood C (1932) A study of the relationship between a knowledge of rules and ability to correct grammatical errors and between identification of sentences and knowledge of subject and predicate. Master’s thesis. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota.
Chomsky N (1957) Syntactic Structures. The Hague: Mouton.
Damasio A (2000) The Feeling of What Happens: Body, Emotion and the Making of Consciousness. London: Vintage.
Department of Education and Science (DES) (1975) A Language for Life (The Bullock Report). London: HMSO.
Department of Education and Science (DES) (1988) Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Teaching of the English Language (The Kingman Report). London: HMSO.
Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (1999) The National Curriculum for England: English. London: DfEE/Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) (2000) The National Literacy Strategy: Grammar for Writing. London: Department for Education and Employment (book and video).
DiStefano P and Killion J (1984) Assessing writing skills through a process approach. English Education 16: 203–207
The effect of grammar teaching (sentence combining) in English on 5 to 16 year olds’
accuracy and quality in written composition 59
Dixon RMW (1965) What is Language? A New Approach to Linguistic Description. London: Longmans, Green and Co Ltd.
Elley WB, Barham IH, Lamb H, Wyllie M (1979) The Role of Grammar in a Secondary School Curriculum. Educational Research Series No 60. Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. ERIC document number ED185588.
EPPI-Centre (2002a) Core Keywording Strategy: Data Collection for a Register of Educational Research. Version 0.9.7. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit.
EPPI-Centre (2002b) Guidelines for Extracting Data and Quality Assessing Primary Studies in Educational Research. Version 0.9.7. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit.
EPPI-Centre (2002c) EPPI-Reviewer. Version 2.5.2. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit.
Fairclough N (1992) Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Halliday MAK (1988) On the language of physical science. In: Ghadessy M (ed.) Registers of Written English: Situational Factors and Linguistic Features. London: Pinter (pages 162–178).
Halliday MAK (1989) Some grammatical problems in scientific English. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics: Genre and Systemic Functional Studies 6: 13–37. Reprinted in: Halliday MAK, Martin JR (eds) Writing Science: Literacy and Discursive Power, London: Falmer Press (pages 69–85).
Halliday MAK, Hasan R (1976) Cohesion in English. London: Longman.
Halliday MAK, Hasan R (1985) Language, Context and Text: Aspects of Language In a Social Semiotic Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harris RJ (1962) An experimental enquiry into the functions and value of formal grammar in the teaching of English, with special reference to the teaching of correct written English to children aged twelve to fourteen. Unpublished PhD thesis. London: University of London.
Hillocks G, Smith MW (1991) Grammar and Usage. In: Flood J, Jensen JM, Lapp D, Squire JR (eds) Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts. New York: Macmillan (pages 591–603).
Hodge R, Kress G (1993) Language as Ideology. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
Hudson R (1992) Teaching Grammar: A Guide for the National Curriculum. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Kress G (1994) Learning to Write. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
Lakoff G, Johnson M (1980) Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Locke T, Andrews R (2004) A systematic review of the impact of ICT on literature-related literacies in English, 5–16. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Available from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/review_groups/english/eng_rv3/eng_rv3.pdf
Low G, Beverton S (2004) A systematic review of the impact of ICT on literacy learning in English of learners between 5 and 16, for whom English is a second or additional language. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Available from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/review_groups/english/eng_rv4/eng_rv4.pdf
Macaulay WJ (1947) The difficulty of grammar. British Journal of Educational Psychology 17: 153–162.
Ministry of Education (1996) Exploring Language: A Handbook for Teachers. Wellington, NZ: Learning Media.
Ofsted (2002) The Key Stage 3 Strategy: Evaluation of the First Year of the Pilot. London: Office for Standards in Education.
O’Hare F (1973) Sentence Combining: Improving Student Writing without Formal Grammar Instruction. Research Report No 15. Urbana, IL, USA: National Council of Teachers of English.
Perera K (1984) Children’s Writing and Reading: Analysing Classroom Language. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Pinker S (1995) The Language Instinct: The New Science of Language and Mind. London: Penguin.
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (1998b) The Grammar Papers: Perspectives on the Teaching of Grammar in the National Curriculum. London: QCA
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (1999) Not Whether But How: Teaching Grammar in English at Key Stages 3 and 4. London: QCA
Quirk R, Greenbaum S, Leech G, Svartvik J (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London: Longman.
Rice JM (1903) Educational research: the results of a test in language and English. Forum XXXV: 209–293, 440–457.
Robinson N (1960) The relationship between knowledge of English grammar and ability in English composition. British Journal of Educational Psychology 30: 184–186.
Saddler B, Graham S (2004) The effects of sentence combining practice on writing skills. Paper given at the AERA annual conference, San Diego, USA, April 12–16.
Segal D, Barr NR (1926) Relation and achievement in formal grammar to achievement in applied grammar. Educational Research 14: 401–402.
Symonds PM (1931) Practice vs. grammar in the learning of correct usage. Journal of Educational Psychology 22: 81–96.
Torgerson C, Zhu D (2003) A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of ICT on literacy learning in English, 5–16. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education. Available from: http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/EPPIWebContent/reel/review_groups/english/eng_rv2/eng_rv2.pdf
Wilkinson A (1971) The Foundations of Language: Talking and Reading in Young people. London: Oxford University Press.
Wyse D (2001) Grammar. For writing? A critical review of empirical evidence. British Journal of Educational Studies 49: 411–427.