Grammar with Bacon: Creating a Well-Framed Sentence

by Dana T. Blair

I love The Well-Crafted Sentence by Nora Bacon. Bacon makes grammar more palatable. **stifled laugh at my own pun** Here is a strategy I used when teaching chapter 5 from the Bacon book: “Well-Developed Sentences: Modification.”
The problem:
You’ve just spent the first part of the semester teaching your students to declutter their sentences, and they are finally producing focused sentences with clear, populated, un-buried subjects. How do you ask them to add words back in via modifiers without undoing everyone’s progress?
A solution:
For my students, it was all about purpose. Exigence is everything! I started our lesson on modifiers with a compare-and-contrast discussion about these two photos:

Photo from: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2012/03/conquer-clutter/clutter-1/

photo from: https://www.goddarddesigngroup.com/portfolio/hubbard-clothing-co/

Here’s the process I used:

1. I begin by showing the cluttered photo and asking for reactions. How does that room feel? Why does it feel that way? See if you can get some specifics: the frames are askew, there are items all over the shelves, the table, the floor, the wall, etc.
2. Then, I show them the second picture. What about this one? Does it feel different? How and why?
3. At this point, it is helpful to examine specifics: both rooms have photo frames. What is different? Both rooms have items on tables and shelves. What is different? The goal is to direct them to intent and effect.
4. At this point, move to the text and point out the issue right away: how do you add words and phrases in without adding all the clutter? This is a good segue into the various kinds of modifiers found in chapter 5 of The Well-Crafted Sentence and what each one does for a sentence. Knowing why you are using a modifier is designing, adding words or phrases in without a plan can be distracting.