| Imitation and sentence combining as pedagogical strategies have long been used in the writing class, but though their individual effects have been well documented, little has been done to explore their use as complementary strategies. This study examines the use of imitation partnered with sentence combining as strategies for improving style and critical/analytical skills. In fall 2003, in order to determine the effectiveness of these strategies, I conducted a qualitative case study, choosing five students from a composition class of sixteen. For the sixteen-week semester, I gave students models of good/effective writing taken from anthologies, and taught them to read these models critically and analytically, identifying the writer's style. Using specific stylistic elements as variables, such as participial phrase, prepositional phrase, short sentence, I taught the students to imitate these stylistic features, reinforcing them through imitation and sentence combining exercises. The data used in the study came primarily from the students' written work (essays, journals, and peer editing responses), with supporting data from interviews and observations. The results of the study indicated that students did learn to imitate the stylistic features emphasized, and they (students) also became more critical readers and writers, understanding the importance of stylistic appeal on rhetorical appeal. This research verifies as well as is substantiated by such theories as the classical theory of mimesis, revisited by theorists such as Edward P. J. Corbett in neo-classical rhetoric. Other theories include Chomsky's transformational generative grammar, psycholinguistics, and corpus linguistics with lexis. The research also revealed that the students' attitude toward writing---their willingness to change---greatly influenced their learning any strategy that would affect or improve their writing. All things considered, imitation and sentence combining, skillfully used, affirm that these older developed pedagogies can be effective in giving students the tools to express the ideas that they want to convey to their audience. |
