Courses: Business and Professional Communication, Persuasion. Objectives: Students demonstrate application of rhetorical invention and improved persuasive writing style through a brief, multi-draft writing activity.

This article, the first of a two-part series, offers readers 13 teaching innovations debuted at the 2017 Association for Business Communication's annual conference in Dublin, Ireland. Assignment topics presented here include communication strategy and message-packaging skills, deep communication insights, and career and personal development.…

This article, the first of a two-part series, catalogs teaching innovations presented at the 2013 Association for Business Communication (ABC) Annual Convention, New Orleans. They were presented during the My Favorite Assignment session. The 11 Favorite Assignments featured here offer the reader a variety of learning experiences including…

This unique time-saving book is packed with tested techniques and materials to assist new and experienced English teachers with virtually every phase of their job from lesson planning to effective discipline techniques. The book includes 175 easy-to-understand strategies, lessons, checklists, and forms for effective classroom management and over…

If you're a teacher with an academically diverse classroom (and what classrooms aren't today?), you need this resource. Framed around the critical elements for success in today's classrooms, "Making Differentiation a Habit" gives educators specific, user-friendly tools to optimize teaching, learning, and assessment. Following on the heels of Diane…

A flexible, point contract system is described which maximizes the advantages of a criterion-referenced contract system while eliminating some of the disadvantages of standard grade contracts. This model has been used by the author in a variety of high school and college courses. (Author/SJL)

This guide for college teachers, written from a British perspective, focuses on economic and efficient practices for assessing students. The guide groups various practices under 10 major strategies: (1) decide whose interests assessment is serving; (2) avoid over-sampling the course; (3) avoid over-questioning; (4) avoid over-reading student work;…

Describes a system for grading individual assignments that combines objective guidelines with flexibility for the instructor and gives students opportunities to earn positive reinforcement. Shows how the system allows for the addition or subtraction of quality points. (RL)

Discusses ways to evaluate students' photographs, offering descriptions from a number of professors and professionals of their approaches. Includes an evaluation exercise, a photo assignment sheet, and three critique or grade sheets outlining criteria for photo evaluation. (SR)

Describes a dual grading process for business writing assignments, initiated to expose students to collaborative evaluation and to verify instructor evaluation. Maintains that receiving feedback from both teacher and students reinforce students' confidence in the evaluation process while teaching them about audience expectations. (SR)

A model course in legislative drafting meant to increase writing abilities and to apply analytical skills is described. Course assignment sheets and problems and checklist/grading sheet are provided. (Available from: Dennis & Co., Inc., 251 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14203, $4.00) (Author/MLW)

Assignments, grading methods, and classroom techniques for teaching creative writing in the high schools. (RL)

Offers teaching tips on thematic writing assignments, student resubmission of papers, sharing memorable sentences from students' writings, and nontraditional grading policies in writing classes. (RDS)

Explores the benefits of using a voice-graded writing approach, which offers instructors an opportunity to engage in virtual office critiquing of student assignments. (SR)

Elements that might be included in a course syllabus are discussed, and reasons for a well-written syllabus are briefly noted. The following syllabus elements are covered: course description, course objectives, course structure, textbook and required materials, recommended optional materials, course schedule, deadlines, evaluation methods, policy…