To write well, it is only necessary to write simply and clearly. To learn how, one must want to write clearly, be willing to work hard, and follow some basic guidelines. Before writing, create an outline by arranging ideas on note cards and putting them in a logical sequence. Write to the reader's level of knowledge about the subject. Avoid…

Teaching students to become readers who can work with an author to "build" a text requires a better understanding of the nature of the author-reader relationship. This essay discusses the rights and responsibilities of that relationship by presenting writing and reading as a rhetorical situation--an interaction between author,…

Presents a procedural model for use as a prewriting strategy to help students "decenter" or distance themselves from their writing and avoid the generalities that characterize egocentric writing. The model provides opposing viewpoints in a student's analysis of problems or issues. (HTH)

Describes a procedure technical writing students can use to test how concerns like segmentation, defining criteria, and paragraph structure may apply to finding an organization for their own texts. Essentially a heuristic, the procedure assumes that a number like three (a control number) is useful in organizing information for any kind of…

Offers a broad historical overview of research and theory in the teaching of composition, focusing on D. Gordon Rohman's study of the writing process; Janet Emig's introduction of the writing protocol; and Linda Flower and John R. Hayes's work on the mental processes involved in writing. (DMM)

Describes techniques used in a 9-week unit in creative writing for elementary school children. Emphasizes the importance of learning that thinking, reading, and writing are facets of the same processes. Lists readings and books to read aloud and imitate. (DMM)

Describes method in which students write a draft requiring some writing skill before learning about that skill. Concludes that predrafting (1) enforces first-drafting; (2) shows students their natural writing abilities; (3) emphasizes discovery of substance first, rules and form second; (4) promotes an active student role; (5) arranges learning in…

A research paper can be seen as a reasonable goal by students if the teacher focuses on the process of writing as much as on the final product. The steps involved are explained and a reproducible progress chart is included. (MT)

Discusses how film offers a vehicle for observation and imitation, providing writers with a more accurate image of how they perform. Refers to three films: "Before the First Word", "Telling an Old Story", and "Pieces of a Puzzle" that have become the basis for insightful and fruitful discussions about writing. (JK)

Outlines the factors influencing copywriter workloads and responsibilities, such as spot lengths, psychographics, continuity, station promotional activities, advertising, and graphic enhancers. (PD)

Uses a single language system--technical description--to illustrate how language systems can now be used as the basis for instruction in technical writing. Provides sample exercises in progressive teaching from simple description to complex continuity devices, showing how they can be used at all stages of the writing process. (HTH)

Describes a teacher's presentation in the classroom of the drafts, notes, outlines, and other artifacts from his own papers. Recommends that teachers show their students evidence of their own struggle with the writing process in order to encourage them and convince them that all writers hesitatingly begin with a mess. (JG)

Describes a "composing process paper" assignment designed to make students aware of their own writing processes and to teach important problem-solving skills. Provides a series of protocol questions students can discuss before writing descriptions of their individual writing processes. (HTH)

Presents a series of exercises aimed at helping students generate lines and ideas for their poetry. (MM)

This article presents the process approach as an effective way of teaching braille writing to young children who are blind. The writing process used in the primary grades establishes a foundation for development of future literacy skills, and instills enthusiasm and confidence in children approaching the complex task of braille writing.…