Describes four prewriting techniques that elementary and middle grade students can use to gather and organize ideas for writing, and by so doing, cure writer's block. Techniques discussed are: (1) brainstorming; (2) clustering; (3) freewriting; and (4) cubing.

Designed to combine the science and the art of teaching composition, this series of assignments encourages junior high and high school writing students to explore tone, original visual images, point of view, and other literary techniques. One assignment asks students to write a number of paragraphs alternately using sarcasm, humor, melancholy, and…

The expressive reading journal aims to break through student passivity by asking students to write extensively and expressively about what they read, each time they read, and to make discoveries and take possession of what they read. This type of journal in the academic course depends for its usefulness on the nature of expressive language, the…

Fundamental changes are needed in English classes if writing is to be taught. Students must have time to write, and they must have someone reading and responding to their writing. Students need to pay attention to their writing and the writing of others, and this writing should be as important as well-known literary works. (MD)

Uses ideas from speech act theory to show students how to become "co-communicants" with their readers. (DF)

Suggests that students can improve the quality of their persuasive essays when the issue is first argued in the classroom. Discusses invention techniques and methods for students to conduct their own research surveys for support of their theses. (HTH)

This article presents a three-stage writing process designed to enhance the writing skills of gifted students, increase their engagement in the subject matter, and provide a greater degree of understanding of the content area. The stages are referred to as prewriting, writing, and rewriting. (JDD)

This paper describes the WRITE UP strategy for helping emotionally disturbed students overcome fears of creative writing, organize their thoughts and improve their writing skills. The writing process is covered from subject selection and brainstorming through composition to editing and the final draft, with grading seen as a teaching tool. (PB)

To evaluate the impact of revision--as distinct from other writing enrichment activities such as peer or teacher feedback--on writing skills, two classes of college-bound high school seniors who voluntarily enrolled in a writing course, were given similar instruction in writing evaluation and skill development. While both classes were permitted to…

Intended as an introduction to an interactive writing workshop, this paper presents a general description of the Document Design Center's writing model to be used by workshop participants. Suggesting that the model is an aid in analyzing and revising writing, in developing new documents, and in applying writing research to practical writing tasks,…

One of nine brief guides for special educators on using computer technology, this guide focuses on the use of computers to improve skills and attitudes in writing instruction. Pre-writing tools such as group brainstorming, story webs, free-writing, journal entries, and prewriting guides help generate ideas and can be carried out either on or off…

Addressing the difficulty encountered by many vocational students in narrowing, focusing, developing, and structuring their ideas for technical writing projects, a computer program was designed to provide these students with a simple, time-saving method of brainstorming and organizing their thoughts. By asking thought-generating questions…

Subjective engagement and cognitive skills are important for various aspects of writing skills. For the work of writing to be efficient, the student must be able to function in both a rhetorical and productive situation, defined in terms of subject, function, and audience. The processes of writing--defined as planning, translating, and reviewing…

This article reviews recent projects using text structures and the writing process as frameworks to guide the composition dialogue. Learning-disabled students' attitudes toward writing as a required skill rather than a means of expression are confronted in the emphasis on dialogue. Several blank forms for organizing prewriting thoughts are…

Because graduating high school seniors and college freshmen have difficulty writing persuasive arguments, elementary and secondary school writing curricula must teach students how to create a persuasive argument by producing evidence or support for their claims. One strategy for teaching persuasive writing that has proven to be successful is a…