I retired from teaching in August, 2018. In the fall semester of that academic year, I taught a section of Basic Writing (now called "Workshop in Composition"), one of the courses I taught in the fall of 1975, my first year at the University of Pittsburgh. This essay is a documentary account of that course, including writing assignments…

Many students with learning disabilities (LD) and emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) struggle with the writing process. Technology has shown to be effective in supporting prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing of written products. This article explains the use of one technology-based graphic organizer with embedded…

Foreign language teachers have long been frustrated by learners' written errors. Traditional approaches to the problem--grammar instruction and error feedback--when used alone are not effective. Explicit instruction in proofreading provides a missing link. When instruction in proofreading is embedded in grammar instruction and when learners use…

This article describes two strategies for grounding grammar instruction in students' lifelong experience as users of language. Students develop their ability to analyze language in the proofreading activity. In both cases, students participate as active decision-makers in the process of analyzing conventions of language use. (Contains 1 note.)

Describes a method of teaching basic writing to native and nonnative students that emphasizes a regression to the most basic elements of writing. Considers what writing content, rhetorical techniques, grammar exercises, and proofreading methods are most effective for the two groups. (TB)

Middle school students with learning disabilities were successfully taught the COPS monitoring strategy to revise and correct writing mistakes. Steps in the strategy include capitalization of appropriate letters, overall appearance of paper, punctuation used correctly, and spelling accuracy. (JDD)