This is the permanent course hub for ELS 603 Syntactic Theories. It preserves the stable academic structure of the course. Semester-specific schedules, assessment briefs, and class administration are maintained outside WordPress.
Course Overview
This course examines major approaches to English syntax with a focus on how syntactic theories conceptualize and explain clause and phrase structure in language use. It treats syntactic theories as frameworks for describing and interpreting grammatical patterns in English and emphasizes theory-informed analysis of authentic spoken and written data.
The course also considers the interface between syntax and meaning, discourse, and genre, including how syntactic choices contribute to communicative function and structural variation.
Course Outcomes
- Explain major approaches to English syntax and how syntactic theories conceptualize clause and phrase structure.
- Analyze grammatical patterns in English using theory-informed syntactic frameworks applied to authentic language data.
- Examine the interface between syntax and meaning, discourse, and genre.
- Produce a graduate-level analytical paper that applies syntactic theory to systematic analysis of empirical language data.
Permanent Course Structure
Learning Sequence
Stable topic-based progression through syntactic evidence, structural analysis, major theoretical approaches, and theory comparison.
Core Resources
Foundational references, readings, and reusable resources for syntactic analysis and research.
Current Offering
When this course is offered, this page will link to the live Course Guide, Assessment Guide, and Google Classroom. These dynamic resources contain current dates, weekly mapping, assessment instructions, deadlines, and class-specific administration.