A Diversity of Grammars: Breaking the Boundaries of "The Well Made Box."

In his 1976 article, "Grammars of Style: New Options in Composition," Winston Weathers calls for a Grammar B, an alternate set of conventions which govern the construction of whole compositions. He urges compositionists to look beyond the "well-made box" and consider other options for compositional patterns and discourse structures. Fields such as feminism and cultural studies have presented viable arguments for the inclusion of other structural paradigms, or grammars, as Weathers chooses to call them. However, such alternate grammars are still not widely embraced by the field of composition. Both Lillian Bridwell-Bowles and James A. Berlin have argued for the inclusion of alternative or ordinary grammars in the classroom. Often ordinary discourse is derived from popular cultural artifacts such as print, film, television, advertising, and conversation. (TB)