In this episode I discuss what grammar is and why we need it. It ain't about blindly following rules or being rude to each other. Rather, grammar is how we put thoughts together so we can think better, so we can be better understood, so we can better understand others, so we can write and speak better at work, so we can teach and learn better, etc.

Contact Michael:
1. Email: reasonrx@aol.com
2. Gold Academy: https://www.goldams.com
3. Total Human Fitness: https://total-human-fitness.com
4. Cypress Creek Ecological Restoration Project: https://ccerp.org
5. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gold-2883921/
6. Twitter/Instagram: EpistemeRx


Notes.
I. A definition of grammar: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/grammar

II. Haptic: https://www.etymonline.com/word/haptic?ref=etymonline_crossreference

" 'pertaining to the sense of touch,' 1890 from Greek haptikos 'able to come into contact with,' from haptein 'to fasten' (see apse)."

III. Readings from Writing and thinking. A Handbook of Composition and Revision by Norman Foerster and J.M. Steadman.
1. Thought and Expression: https://archive.org/details/writingthinkingh0000norm/page/2/mode/2up

2. Grammar: https://archive.org/details/writingthinkingh0000norm/page/126/mode/2up

3. Economy: https://archive.org/details/writingthinkingh0000norm/page/48/mode/2up

4. Parallelism: https://archive.org/details/writingthinkingh0000norm/page/22/mode/2up

5. General Obscurity — Loose Thinking: https://archive.org/details/writingthinkingh0000norm/page/414/mode/2up

IV. Ayn Rand on grammar and logic: https://goldams.com/the-importance-of-grammar/

V. Walden drafts
1. The Walden Woods Project
https://www.walden.org/what-we-do/library/thoreau/the-writings-of-henry-david-thoreau-the-digital-collection/

2. The Walden Manuscript Project
https://digitalthoreau.org/the-walden-manuscript-project/

VI. Parallelism
i. What parallelism is and some examples in literature: https://literarydevices.net/parallelism/
ii. Some benefits of parallelism and more examples: http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/parallelism/

VII. Sentence Diagramming
To learn grammar, you can study sentence diagramming. I recommend it. Good stuff. Here are some resources.

1. Free online sentence diagramming books.
i. GLENCOE LANGUAGE ARTS, Sentence Diagramming (answers at end)
https://d3jc3ahdjad7x7.cloudfront.net/Uw3BMx78pj032cWUNrOWrznKoOtEzR2iCVP5krMeqziiIxpi.pdf
ii. Basics First Sentence Diagramming (answers at end):
http://jwoodsdistrict205.yolasite.com/resources/BASICS%20FIRST%20DIAGRAMING%20SENTENCES%20A.pdf

2. Sentence diagramming books you could purchase.
i. Rex Barks: Diagramming Sentences Made Easy by Phyllis Davenport: https://www.amazon.com/Phyllis-Davenport/dp/1889439355/
ii. Diagramming Step by Step: One Hundred and Fifty-Five Steps to Excellence in Sentence Diagramming by Eugene Moutoux: https://www.amazon.com/Diagramming-Step-Fifty-Five-Excellence-Sentence/dp/1935497650/

3. Courses I teach.
A. Can be done on a variety of media or in person
i. https://goldams.com/services/language-and-literature/sentence-diagramming-grammar-course-session-1/
ii. https://goldams.com/services/language-and-literature/sentence-diagramming-grammar-course-session-2/

B. On Outschool.
i. https://outschool.com/classes/sentence-diagramming-grammar-class-session-1-AbFeysbi#abl8xusnkv
ii. https://outschool.com/classes/sentence-diagramming-grammar-class-session-2-VHt7Knnt
iii. https://outschool.com/classes/sentence-diagramming-grammar-camp-session-1-4Rk6AvMW
iv. https://outschool.com/classes/sentence-diagramming-grammar-camp-session-2-uG9DZ7hA