Taking the mystery out of how skilled writers think, this book shares some practical tips on how to make prose more readable. It also examines some common questions about punctuation, quoting, usage issues, and stylistic taboos. The book is geared to those writers who have already been through the "textbook mill and who now hunger for helpful…

Explores the intersection of poet William Stafford, the poet in each child, and poetry. Discusses influences of Stafford on the author during her academic training and subsequent academic career. Notes Stafford left behind a vision of the world, a way of thinking about the process of writing, and a respect for the writer that is each child as…

Based on a successful workshop, this book presents the basic elements of narrative and a series of exercises that offer a self-guided set of discussion topics and exercises for a writer, a small group of writers, or a class interested in the craft of narrative prose. Topics addressed in the book are: the sound of language; the narrative sentence…

No matter how intimidated or how blocked, any writer can tap into the vast oceans of creativity within by following the exercises in this book. Broken into small steps, each exercise is easy and takes only minutes to do. Yet each one forms a wave that brings with it a rush of ideas, images, and scenes as it crests. Chapters in the book are: (1)…

Claims that participants in computer-mediated "chat" (CMC) produce a kind of hybrid text. Stresses the importance of investigating the individual texts and writing practices of each participant in CMC studies to better understand what occurs when language users bring individual cognitive, social, and contextual factors with them to a…

Teachers who restrict their teaching of writing to elements of exposition are likely to fail because there is insufficient content, interest, or challenge in learning simple exposition, and the techniques that contribute to polished exposition are more easily accessible when approached through aesthetic writing. A teaching sequence for using…

Designed to improve student achievement in the English language arts by engaging students in literacy standards, this draft document presents content standards and benchmarks that will help prepare North Dakota students for new complexities of work and social life. The document begins with a preface, a list of basic assumptions, and definitions of…