<p>THE IMPORTANCE OF GRAMMAR:</p><p>There are types of grammatical knowledge: a. conscious b. tacit or intuitive</p><p>Good writers have the intuition but do not always have the conscious knowledge. Some good writers have both. Less skilled writers sometimes have extreme conscious knowledge but not the intuition. Some unskilled writers lack both types of grammatical knowledge.</p><p>Our task in 1010/1020:</p><p>To improve student writing. This is done through various means, including the building up of the grammar intuitions of our students. Although there are a lot of stories on both sides of the grammar issue, no research study has shown a direct link between the teaching of conscious knowledge of grammar and better writing. In fact, to the contrary, research shows that an explicit focus on grammar during the process of writing a paper can negatively affect less skilled writers (whereas skilled writers aren’t usually affected at all). It’s the application of rules to actual writing that helps writers improve. </p><p>Any time we assign a writing assignment in 1010/1020, grammar is always part of the process (especially for editing) and for grading. Therefore, teachers must focus either explicitly or implicitly on the role of grammar within the writing process. We use Hodges’ Harbrace Handbook to study grammar consciously (when needed) and then use informal and formal writing assignments to help with the application of these rules and the building of students’ intuitions about grammar. </p><p>For 1010 and 1020, a variety of teaching styles exist in our department, and all are acceptable according to our guidelines. However, this does not mean that grammar is not an important part of writing (especially for editing skills) and not a part of the teaching and evaluation that goes on in these classes. </p>