Considers McPhee's explicit statements on nature and environmental issues as well as the implicit environmental appeals in his essays. Suggests that in the complicated and volatile minefield of modern environmentalism, readers need an expository guide like McPhee who is not only open-minded but informative, discerning, and reliable. (RS)

Suggests that theories of self in composition studies waver between forces of culture and psyche, and that composition theory lacks concrete representations of the materiality of self, the ways in which individuals negotiate culture to create a sense of identity. Examines diary passages from four volunteers to study the "heterophonic"…

A story told about soliciting comments and criticisms from students during a class one day reveals a number of disturbing techniques used in academic story-telling. Such story telling, which has become increasingly common in academic teaching/writing journals of late, creates the deceptive impression of sincerity and intimacy. In this case, the…

Examines the prose versions of Shakespeare plays written for children by Charles and Mary Lamb, Bernard Miles, and Leon Garfield. Suggests that the content ranges far from Shakespeare's originals and promotes values that should be questioned critically. (TB)

Studies the fate of scientific observations as they pass from original reports intended for scientific peers into popular accounts aimed at a general audience. (FL)

Explores features of conference proposals submitted to the Conference on College Composition in 1989, 1990, and 1992--345 abstracts in total. Results showed that successful abstracts were more likely to follow generic qualities associated with "unsolicited proposals"; foundational discourse remained constant throughout the abstracts but…

Reports on a study of genre and register that reaches the following conclusions concerning the teaching of language and literature: (1) teaching should concentrate on the move structure of genres and the concomitant move registers rather than the general register of a genre as a whole; and (2) the teaching of reading and writing should be…

Discusses the typical form and content of 40 theoretical scientific papers chosen from the most-cited papers in the "Science Citation Index." Demonstrates that the form of these papers is similar to that of experimental and methods papers but that the content differs substantially. (HB)

Presents the results of a survey of several freshman composition instructors who offer their opinions of teaching writing and empirical research into the writing process. Notes the problems with such research, as well as the problems of overburdened composition teachers who receive little recognition. (JC)

Examines three articles written jointly by the same researchers and reporting the results of the same study in three different specialized journals. Points out the inadequacy of the current heuristic for analyzing audiences, and provides the basis for creating a different audience analysis heuristic based on rhetorical analysis of discourse. (HTH)

Proposes that the value of formal writing conventions has diminished. Notes that, although formal conventions are important, the findings are hard to generalize. Uses content analysis to prove formal conventions are valuable and are often justified on rhetorical grounds, suggesting the dichotomy between formalist and rhetorical axiologies is…

Explores the developmental trajectory within the field of English studies as discernible in the kinds of articles published over the past several decades in the most prominent pedagogical journals in the field, including "College English" and "Research in the Teaching of English." (HB)

Considers how college English instructors view their students. Studies and analyzes references to students appearing in the February issues of the pedagogical journal "College Composition and Communication" for 1990, 1991, and 1992. Calls for increased attention to this subject. (HB)

Discusses the results of a study in which 130 college composition textbooks were examined in order to determine the role that expressive discourse plays in the teaching of writing at the college level. (DF)

Explores the connection between reading and writing implicit in children's creative writing and highlights the similarity between processes of reading and writing. (JC)