Describes how a "style analysis" sheet may be used in helping students to develop a more concrete and vigorous prose style. (DD)

Encourages the study of critical and textual variations in order to raise students' awareness of how cultural and literary assumptions influence their reading and to show students how their understanding of a work can be altered by subtle variations. (DD)

Discusses ways to insure that the current emphasis on grammar, concrete structure, and explicit simplicity do not edge out the development of writing that is forceful and engaging. (FL)

Considers the reasons for making the rhetorical choices that constitute a writer's "voice." Examines teaching models that help students learn how to influence meaning through the rhetorical choices they make. (RL)

Reports on a "summing up" assignment at the end of a course on the fiction of J. D. Salinger. Notes the way students used parodies to display their knowledge of Salinger's style and recurrent themes. Offers one student-written parody as an example. (RL)

Intended for secondary teachers and student writers but useful for anyone interested in poetic forms, this book defines 74 basic poetic forms, summarizes their histories, quotes examples from noted poets, and offers professional tricks of the trade on how to use each form. The book covers the following poetic forms: abstract poem, acrostic,…

Examines the implicit, possibly unintentional, meanings embodied in some technical writing assignments. Discusses the conventions of plain technical writing, which underestimate its potential for communication. (HTH)

An approach to teaching the Odyssey is discussed in which the work is treated as a folk tale rather than a saga. (CFM)

Explains how to teach F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" in three stages: before, during, and after a close look at the text and outlines the novel's narrative structure. (HOD)

Describes a unit in which gothic novels are first read and then used by students as models for the writing of an entire "gothic" novel of their own. (JL)

An approach to teaching stylistics, or writing style, to high school and college composition classes is described in this brief article. AUTHOR'S COMMENT (excerpt): Composition teachers generally recognize and appreciate grace in writing. But teaching or learning that grace is difficult at best. Perhaps style cannot easily be taught, but it can be…

Shows the power of dramatistic writing, which uses representative anecdotes as well as argument and demonstration. Proposes that dramatism be taught as an alternate style, in addition to and in conjunction with argument. (EL)

The ability to question and the desire to be exact can be nourished by students' reading and writing responses to Thoreau's works. (RL)

Describes writing assignments in which students develop paragraphs incorporating various sense images. (RL)

Imitation of organizational and sentence patterns is an ancient technique for teaching rhetoric, but to be effective, imitation must be informed, deliberate, and creative. Students must first learn to recognize the characteristics of a given style and then to appreciate the connection between specific stylistic qualities and their cumulative…