Susan J. Behrens is Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and Director of the Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence, Marymount Manhattan College, New York, USA. She contributes weekly lessons on writing and English composition to The New York Times in Education (nytimesineducation.com). Her other publications include Grammar: A Pocket Guide (Routledge 2010) and Language in the Real World: An Introduction to Linguistics (with Judith A. Parker, Routledge 2010).