Describes a three-part exercise used in a first semester freshman composition class, intended to show students the world of details in even the most ordinary, everyday objects by having students write about a plastic coffee mug. (SR)

Creative inductive exercises for teaching effective writing skills are presented. Basic objectives of the inductive method include: (1) challenging students with creative options; (2) discovering the basics in sentence construction; (3) interpreting the idea of the "levels of generality;" and (4) focusing on the parallel between sentence…

Presents five short teaching tips written by five different authors on the following topics: newspapers, writing exercises for aspiring elementary school teachers, telephone directory as research tool, structured essay assignments, and teaching description with Raymond Carver's "Cathedral." (TB)

A writing program that emphasizes daily writing practice, artistic as well as mechanical criticism, group work, student interests, and revision is being successfully taught in several elementary and high schools. (CJ)

Activities that reinforce social studies instruction and improve writing skills are described, including: (1) writing resumes for historical figures; (2) "on-site" reporting of historical events; (3) defining social studies concepts; (4) perspective taking and letter writing; and (5) speech writing. (CJ)

When students write in response to literature, they make reading a creative act. Recording their personal reaction to a poem or an excerpt from a larger work, students become aware of the complex web of past experiences, associations and ideas triggering their responses; they learn to interact more fully, more consciously, with the text. Besides…

Reflecting the view that a single formula for revolutionizing the teaching of writing is unavailable, this publication of the New York State English Council presents a series of articles dealing with various topics in the teaching of composition in high school and college settings. Subjects discussed include the following: the use of fables in the…

This paper describes a year-long, college senior composition course based on nature writing and open to students from all content areas. Nature writing is defined as writing about nature with the specific requirement that the writer must remain true to the objective facts of nature while at the same time presenting the human response to, and the…

Suggests the importance of George Orwell's "1984" for today's students and recommends specific analytic and descriptive writing activities to develop critical reading skills. (MM)

In order to minimize the dread which students and teachers alike often feel toward freshman composition courses, it is important to involve students in reading and writing assignments which are of interest and importance to them. Autobiography, as a subject for study and a focus for writing, can be a great motivator and an expediter of the…