Beth Rapp Young

Department of English

Associate Professor

byoung@ucf.edu

Campus Location

Trevor Colbourn Hall 256E

Office Hours

Fall 25: Tues 1030a-1230p online; Thurs 1030a-1230p in TCH 256E

Education

Ph.D. in English (Rhetoric, Linguistics, and Literature Program) from University of Southern California (1995)
M.A. in English from University of Southern California (1990)
B.A. in English from Rollins College (1987)

Research Interests

Webster's Dictionary
Johnson's Dictionary (johnsonsdictionaryonline.com)
linguistics
grammar / usage
rhetoric / composition

Publications

Articles/Essays

Young, Beth Rapp. “Teaching about Grammaticality with Online Tools.” Proceedings of the Linguistic Society of America 6.2 (2021): 5109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3765/plsa.v6i2.5109
Young, Beth Rapp. “Prescriptivism, Grammar Checkers, and That vs. Which: How Our Tools Influence Our Rules.” ATEG Journal 24:1 (Summer 2015): 28-43.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Using Archival Data to Examine Mandatory Visits.” Academic Exchange Quarterly (Winter 2014). 49-56. Reprinted in Sound Instruction: Writing Center Theory and Practice, vol. 4. Ed. Kellie A. Charron. 80-86.
Young, Beth Rapp. “The Grammar Voyeur: Using Google to Teach English Grammar to Advanced Undergraduates.” American Speech 86 (Summer 2011): 247-258.

Conference Papers/Presentations

Young, Beth Rapp. “Undergraduate Researchers and Johnson’s Dictionary Online.” American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) 52nd Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD. 2 April 2022.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Approaching Challenges in Obtaining Source Materials: Novel Strategies and Challenges for the Johnson’s Dictionary Online Project.” Florida Digital Humanities Consortium. 12 Mar. 2021
Young, Beth Rapp. “Teaching Grammaticality with Online Tools.” Symposium on Scholarly Teaching in the Age of COVID and Beyond. Linguistic Society of America Conference. Online. 9 Jan. 2021.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Collaboration to Obtain Source Materials: Collaboration Successes and Challenges for the Johnson’s Dictionary Online Project.” Vancouver Digital Humanities Conference. Online. 28 Oct 2020.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary: Greatest Hits.” Dictionary Society of North America 22nd Conference, Bloomington, IN. 11 May, 2019.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Delighting in Dictionaries: Teaching Students Advanced Dictionary Skills.” Assembly for Teachers of English Grammar (ATEG) 29th Annual Conference, Glassboro, NJ. 28 July 2018.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Adding Digital Functionality to an Eighteenth-Century Dictionary.” American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) 49th Annual Meeting. Orlando, FL. 22 Mar 2018.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Was America the Death of English? Examining Edwin Newman’s Strictly Speaking, Forty Years later.” ATEG 28th Annual Conference, Mt. Pleasant, MI. 11 Aug. 2017.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Using Google Books N-Gram Viewer to Investigate Language.” ATEG 27th Annual Conference, Charlottesville, VA. 5 Aug 2016.
Young, Beth Rapp. “New Words Everywhere (and What Students Can Learn from Them).” ATEG 26th Annual Conference, Largo, MD, 24 July 2015.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Grammar Checkers Enforce Prescriptivism: A That/Which Timeline.” Poster. Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), Tampa, 19-21 March, 2015.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Using Online Corpora to Research Contemporary Usage.” Digital Pedagogy Poster. CCCC, Tampa, 21 March, 2015.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Reviewing the Grammar Cops.” Assembly for Teachers of English Grammar (ATEG) 25th Annual Conference, Colorado Springs, CO, 4 September 2014.
Young, Beth Rapp, and Kimberly Murray. “To Require or Not to Require: A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Visits to the Writing Center. National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW), Miami, 5 November 2011.
Young, Beth Rapp. Panel Participant. "Tales from the Winner's Circle: Award-winning Online Faculty Discuss the Secrets of Their Success" Sloan-C ALN Conference, Orlando, 9 November 2011.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Activities for Teaching Grammar Online.” ATEG 22nd Annual Conference, Largo, MD, 29 July 2011.
Young, Beth Rapp. “Do Errors Matter If We Don’t Notice Them? How Writing Teachers React to Error.” CCCC, Atlanta, 9 April 2011.

Course #	Course	Title	Mode	Days/Times	Syllabus
93577	LIN4105	History of English Language	Web-Based (W)	7:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Unavailable
If someone came up to you and said “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares,” would you know what they meant? How about, “I kan nat geeste ‘rum, ram, ruf,’ by lettre”? How’s this: “Þæt wæs god cyning”? Believe it or not, these are all plain English sentences; the thing is, they come from different times in the language’s history. The first is a Bible verse (Hebrews 13:2) from the King James Version, written about 1610. The middle one comes from a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, from about 1400; two centuries makes quite a difference, no? The last is from Beowulf, a thirteen-hundred-year-old poem in Old English. It looks like a foreign language. How did English get this way? Why is English spelling so crazy? IsCan you explain the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs? Between complements and objects? Between clauses and phrases? Between active and passive voice? This grammar class will teach you how. English grammar is a fascinating subject that transcends questions such as, "Is it ok to end a sentence with a preposition?" Even the simple rules are not as simple as you might think. Experts often disagree, for example, about where to put the comma. Unfortunately, many self-appointed grammar cops know little about how the English language actually works. It is true that if you're a native speaker of English, you're already an expert. However, this expertise is "innate"--it isn't conscious knowledge, but subconscious knowledge. In this class, you'll learn to consciously understand how your language works so you can enhance your own communication skills. Making the transition from subconscious to conscious knowledge may not be easy. For one thing, whatever conscious knowledge you already have may be clouded by inaccuracies, even folklore. Since this class is based on research about how good speakers and writers actually use English, you may find it difficult because it’s not what you're used to. For another, making the transition to conscious knowledge will require frequent practice. Because of this, you'll be expected to complete several assignments every week, and you'll be encouraged to complete additional practice exercises on your own. Please note: Writers benefit from studying grammar in the same way that athletes benefit from studying anatomy. Grammar isn't a "how to write" class any more than anatomy is a "how to play your sport" class, but knowing how English works can help you write more effectively. Because this course covers a vast amount of material, you should expect to complete dense reading assignments, numerous homework assignments, and challenging exams. Prerequisites: A grade of ‘C’ (2.0) or better in ENC 1102 and sophomore standing. As the UCF catalog states: LIN 4680 CAH-ENG 3(3,0) Modern English Grammar: PR: Sophomore standing, and C (2.0) or better required in ENC 1102. Emphasis upon the analysis and comparison of traditional, structural, and transformational grammar.
83536	LIN4680	Modern English Grammar	Web-Based (W)	7:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Unavailable
Can you explain the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs? Between complements and objects? Between clauses and phrases? Between active and passive voice? This grammar class will teach you how. English grammar is a fascinating subject that transcends questions such as, "Is it ok to end a sentence with a preposition?" Even the simple rules are not as simple as you might think. Experts often disagree, for example, about where to put the comma. Unfortunately, many self-appointed grammar cops know little about how the English language actually works. It is true that if you're a native speaker of English, you're already an expert. However, this expertise is "innate"--it isn't conscious knowledge, but subconscious knowledge. In this class, you'll learn to consciously understand how your language works so you can enhance your own communication skills. Making the transition from subconscious to conscious knowledge may not be easy. For one thing, whatever conscious knowledge you already have may be clouded by inaccuracies, even folklore. Since this class is based on research about how good speakers and writers actually use English, you may find it difficult because it’s not what you're used to. For another, making the transition to conscious knowledge will require frequent practice. Because of this, you'll be expected to complete several assignments every week, and you'll be encouraged to complete additional practice exercises on your own. Please note: Writers benefit from studying grammar in the same way that athletes benefit from studying anatomy. Grammar isn't a "how to write" class any more than anatomy is a "how to play your sport" class, but knowing how English works can help you write more effectively. Because this course covers a vast amount of material, you should expect to complete dense reading assignments, numerous homework assignments, and challenging exams. Prerequisites: A grade of ‘C’ (2.0) or better in ENC 1102 and sophomore standing.
83776	LIN4680	Modern English Grammar	Mixed Mode (M)	Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM	Unavailable
Can you explain the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs? Between complements and objects? Between clauses and phrases? Between active and passive voice? This grammar class will teach you how. English grammar is a fascinating subject that transcends questions such as, "Is it ok to end a sentence with a preposition?" Even the simple rules are not as simple as you might think. Experts often disagree, for example, about where to put the comma. Unfortunately, many self-appointed grammar cops know little about how the English language actually works. It is true that if you're a native speaker of English, you're already an expert. However, this expertise is "innate"--it isn't conscious knowledge, but subconscious knowledge. In this class, you'll learn to consciously understand how your language works so you can enhance your own communication skills. Making the transition from subconscious to conscious knowledge may not be easy. For one thing, whatever conscious knowledge you already have may be clouded by inaccuracies, even folklore. Since this class is based on research about how good speakers and writers actually use English, you may find it difficult because it’s not what you're used to. For another, making the transition to conscious knowledge will require frequent practice. Because of this, you'll be expected to complete several assignments every week, and you'll be encouraged to complete additional practice exercises on your own. Please note: Writers benefit from studying grammar in the same way that athletes benefit from studying anatomy. Grammar isn't a "how to write" class any more than anatomy is a "how to play your sport" class, but knowing how English works can help you write more effectively. Because this course covers a vast amount of material, you should expect to complete dense reading assignments, numerous homework assignments, and challenging exams. Prerequisites: A grade of ‘C’ (2.0) or better in ENC 1102 and sophomore standing.

Course #	Course	Title	Mode	Days/Times	Syllabus
12621	LIN4660	Linguistics and Literature	Mixed Mode (M)	Tu 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM	Unavailable
This semester, we'll work on at least three prestigious lexicography projects: We will antedate words for the Oxford English Dictionary and for the Historical Dictionary of SF/Gaming. We will research illustrative quotations for the NEH-funded Samuel Johnson's Dictionary Online Project (and maybe we'll also work on the Noah Webster's Dictionary Online Project). The course emphasizes learning by doing the work. This course is a Research-Intensive (RI) course that involves active engagement in a guided line of inquiry through a process of research or academic scholarship; you will actively learn about digital archive research in this course. By the end of the semester, you will be able to: • Conduct effective digital archive research • Identify and explain the significance of different parts of a dictionary entry • Understand basic XML mark-up • Observe historical changes in words and word meanings • Understand the features and purposes of scholarly, historical dictionaries • Understand the elements of digital humanities projects that enhance classic reference texts with digital tools As the UCF catalog states, “LIN 4660 CAH-ENG 3(3,0) Linguistics and Literature: PR: Grade of "C" (2.0) or better required in ENC 1102 or C.I. Language study as an aid to understanding literature.
19827	LIN5675	English Grammar and Usage	Web-Based (W)	7:00 PM - 7:00 PM	Unavailable
Every company has at least one "grammar expert" who picks through prose looking for errors. Your company may even expect you to be that expert. If this prospect makes you nervous, you need this course! This course will teach you the fundamentals of English grammar. You'll also learn the difference between grammatical rules and folklore rules, so that you can safely navigate tricky passages when the rules aren't clear. Please note: Writers benefit from studying grammar in the same way that athletes benefit from studying anatomy. Grammar isn't a "how to write" class any more than anatomy is a "how to play your sport" class, but knowing how English works can help you write more effectively.