Is Sentence Diagramming Necessary for Learning Grammar?

A child who can diagram can easily identify a sentence that is actually a fragment because it is missing a subject or a verb. He or she can clearly see that sentence structure. After a lot of experience diagramming on paper, children diagram in their minds, quickly recognizing issues like missing subjects or verbs, and fixing them on the spot. 

Also, some adverbs are not easy to identify, and some words can be an adjective or an adverb, such as weekly, so, late, and straight. Diagramming makes it easy to identify parts of speech because you learn what the word is modifying. 

My oldest daughter got a perfect score on the English portion of the ACT. When I was doing ACT prep with her, I often used sentence diagramming to help her figure out really tricky questions. 

You can’t diagram unless you really understand grammar. Diagramming also makes your understanding of grammar stick better. I’ve studied extensively how children learn and how their minds work. And in one of my favorite books, Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, which is based on brain research, the author, Peter Brown, explains: “Practice that’s . . . varied produces better mastery, longer retention, and more versatility.”