Masters Thesis

Transformational sentence combining in error reduction

As the following section of this chapter reveals, the bulk of research concerning the relation of instruction in grammar to improvement in writing skill has failed to show a significant positive correlation between the two. However, recent studies suggest that a positive correlation may exist if transformational grammar forms the basis for the instruction. The aim of the present study is to carry this later research a step further by investigating the following questions: (1) Does transformational grammar form a practical basis for the identification and classification of errors in student writing; and (2) Can a systematic functional approach to the study of transformational rules of sentence combining, if such rules are inductively taught and are accompanied by writing practice, significantly lower the frequency count of certain kinds of errors, toward the reduction of which the instruction and practice are directed?

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