Scholars and teachers within the field of composition have long heralded the merits of reflective writing. Whether written intermittently throughout a course or near the end (typically in the genre of portfolio cover letter), reflective writing assignments are thought to promote cognitive development by helping students become more aware of their…

Argues that descriptive writing has an important role in disciplinary learning for novice students and that discussion of critical analysis and critical thinking in tertiary learning could benefit from a linguistic perspective on how critical analysis is realized in student writing. (Author/VWL)

Verbally describing places visited on a wilderness expedition in great detail, using poetic metaphors to add power, does more than improve descriptive skills. Speaking the place aloud deepens the experience by sharpening one's observational skills and adding an imaginative aspect that brings the place alive. Writing the observations in a journal…

Discusses how words function with regard to the reality they represent. Claims that, generally, people substitute descriptions of reality for reality. (JD)

Although first enunciated in 1827 by Samuel Newman, the modes of discourse--narration, description, exposition, and argument--were not very popular until formulated in 1866 and presented in the United States in a rhetoric textbook in 1885. After 1890, they were gradually accepted by the most influential rhetoricians of the day, and their use in…

One critical function of anthropology is to use ethnography to describe, analyze, protest, and interrupt oppressive social practices. A process of systematic negative critique allows the ethnographer to confront cultural hegemony and opens ways to transform the ideologies of schools and other institutions. (VM)

Describes how a writing teacher has his students write about one object in the four modes (description, narration, argumentation, and exposition) as a means of learning about writing and writing to learn. Suggests that students learn about their topics when they write about them in the four modes. (SR)

Shows how Muir's writing succeeded in transforming his readers' imaginative experience of scenic grandeur into an obligation to support preservationist legislation. Demonstrates how he influenced the establishment of Yosemite National Park and the preservation of wilderness reserves. (PD)

Describes writing a novel about the "expectancy-loss" burden of a special needs student and the "teratophobia" of ordinary people. Discusses examples in literature, such as Charles Dickens's character Tiny Tim. Explores special needs student's way of awkwardly examining his life, as well as the trials of an author trying to…

This document contains some book suggestions to help introduce all the various parts of writing. Helping students understand figures of speech takes more than a book ? it takes a creative teacher and interested students. One book that teachers and students have had a great time with is Monkey Business by Wallace Edwards, (Kids Can Press, 2004,…

Teaching writing on the basis of purposes has certain advantages over teaching on the basis of techniques. The primary advantage is the greater resemblance to "real writing." Most student writing is apprentice work, as students themselves know, but it is far easier to point to nonacademic analogues of the categories of purpose (definition,…

Analyzes changes in content and shifts in emphasis in rhetoric texts from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present. Suggests that the current-traditional approach to the teaching of rhetoric used in most college classrooms has a strong similarity to that advocated by early rhetoricians. (RBW)

This paper examines several language learning and teaching experiences described in the literary works of Burroughs's "Tarzan of the Apes," Shakespeare's "Henry V," Scott's "The Jewel in the Crown," and Alcott's "Little Women." In all cases, the language being learned was not necessary for daily activities, yet each case demonstrates that language…

An examination of the written products and writing situations of a university reveals that virtually all of these writing tasks call for exposition, which further breaks down into the five components of seriation, classification, synthesis, compare/contrast, and analysis. These five components of expositional discourse form a set of…

Proposes a heuristic to generate specific and vivid phrasing and to draw on the right hemisphere of the brain for the substance of the essay. Describes stages of process as DRAW (Delineate, Ruminate, Analogize, and Write). Emphasizes creative description and expressive language rather than generation of ideas. (JG)