uggghhhh, Grammar

So I finally ventured out of the beach/vacation book, and I landed straight in proverbial hell.  That is, unless you’re an English teacher, or extremely eccentric (some would consider them synonymous).  I am now perusing Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson.  But not so fast, this book, rather than the typical language handbook, is a book about how to teacher grammar within writer’s workshop.  No more worksheets, People!  If you’re like me, you remember diagramming sentences and copying sentences out of a language book in hopes of unlocking the mystery of commas, apostrophes, and dangling modifiers. What are those anyway???  Hopefully this book can relieve some of the mystery and trepidation that I feel in teaching grammar. 

At first glance I am impressed.  The opening quote is from a book that my grandfather actually gave to me; which means it’s about 50 years old (sorry Grandpa Jim), but its lessons still hold true:  Eats, Shoots & Leaves.  The familiar title makes me comfortable, so I continue on.

The next tidbit is THE LIST.  Yes, the 20 most common errors made by students according to Andrea Lunsford and Robert Connors.  After checking out Lunsford’s website, http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/lunsford/Lunsford_Home.aspx, I found my source to be just a little bit out of date.  Lunsford’s new list looks like this: 

1.        Wrong word

2.       Missing comma after an introductory element

3.       Incomplete or missing documentation

4.       Vague pronoun reference

5.       Spelling (including homonyms)

6.       Mechanical error with a quotation

7.       Unnecessary comma

8.       Unnecessary and missing capitalization

9.       Missing word

10.   Faulty sentence structure

11.   Missing comma with a nonrestrictive element

12.   Unnecessary shift in verb tense

13.   Missing comma in a compound sentence

14.   Unnecessary or missing apostrophe (including its/it’s)

15.   Fused (run-on) sentence

16.   Comma splice

17.   Lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement

18.   Poorly integrated quotation

19.   Unnecessary or missing hyphen

20.   Sentence fragment

I do have to say that I agree, and maybe with a list, I can start to tackle these key issues.  This will be a little test for me.  Can I get through all twenty “issues” in one year?  And better yet, can I actually change some of the poor writing habits that I see. .  . maybe even some of my own?  As Grandpa Jim would say, “To be continued. .  .”