Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects

Rhetorical Grammar is a writer's grammar - a text that presents grammar as a rhetorical tool, avoiding the do's and don'ts so long associated with the study of grammar. It reveals to student writers the system of grammar that they know subconsciously and encourages them to use that knowledge to understand their choices as writers and the effects of those choices on their readers. Besides providing key strategies for revision, Rhetorical Grammar presents systematic discussions of reader expectation, sentence rhythm and cohesion, subordination and coordination, punctuation, modifiers, diction, and other principles. Studying grammar from this rhetorical point of view defines the study of language as an intellectual exercise designed to open up students' minds to the versatility, beauty, and possibilities of language.