Errors and Expectations, written by Mina Shaughnessy in 1977, is one of those books that was cited a great deal in my graduate studies but wasn't one I was required to read, and, not thinking I was going to have to worry about teaching basic writing (foolish mortal!), I didn't seek it out for my personal professional development.
It is, though, one of the seminal works on basic writing and cannot be ignored in my research on grammar pedagogy. This book discusses other topics beyond grammar (there are chapters called "Beyond the Sentence" and "Expectations"), so I will get a stronger grasp of the history behind basic writing and writers in college.
Before reading the introduction, I was concerned that this might be outdated and therefore irrelevant. Having read the introduction, I see that the same errors and expectations that were present in the late 70's are still with us today.
What follows will be a discussion of the most illuminating quotes from the book along with discussion of how to use this information in the classroom. Exact quotes will appear in italics after the given page number along with commentary. I will also indicate Shaughnessy's suggestions for the classroom and, finally, overall teaching tips. I hope the text is as illuminating as I expect it to be.
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