Since high school students are failing to master writing proficiency, developmental writing programs at the college level have become increasingly necessary. This article explains the lack of readiness with which students are entering college and the workplace, examines the reasons students are having trouble writing, and describes elements of…

The process of digital storytelling allows basic writers to take a personal narrative and translate it into a multimodal and multidimensional experience, motivating a diverse group of writers with different learning styles to engage more creatively and meaningfully in the writing process. Digital storytelling has the capacity to contextualize…

How many times do teachers assign writing in science class only to be exasperated by their students' lack of writing skills? They often have difficulty making claims and using evidence; instead of explaining their reasoning, they state, "Just because." But teaching writing isn't just for English/language arts (ELA) class. Over the past two years,…

The challenges of teaching writing and encouraging students to write are many. However, one of the most difficult issues to deal with is students' reluctance to write in any language, even their home language. Because of this reluctance, being asked to write in English as a foreign or second language can feel like a double burden. Learners of…

Academic writing is something we all want our students to do well. The ability of our students to use writing in meaningful ways seems to lag far behind what we know they can do. The author introduces a technique to assist in teaching college academic writing. Writing for personal goals is contrasted with student academic writing. The integration…

The author describes the challenges of a four-year, open-admission institution where equality of access has not equaled equality of success for basic writers. While there is a good deal of scholarship on student departure by compositions and experts in student retention and persistence, some models of student departure and success offered by these…

This article addresses the issue of basic writing, demonstrating how one university's basic writing program acts as a steward of writing. The assumption that basic writers only consume resources rather than contribute to academic excellence is rejected. What links the author responses to this issue is a publication of student writing entitled…

At a time when many teenagers are consumed by such activities as text-messaging, blogging, and social networking, more middle and high school students than in the past have mastered the formal "basic" writing skills needed to express ideas or share information, national assessment results released last week show. But just small proportions--33…

This essay responds to Jane Danielewicz's and Peter Elbow's recent piece on contract grading in "College Composition and Communication" (December 2009). I discuss the similarities of their approach to my own contract process, finding that we share a quantitative/performative method for grading. I also explore our differences. While they guarantee…

Describes a unit of study for a basic writing class that incorporates the writing of a dramatic monologue as a first step in learning to write a narrative essay. Discusses how one student's monologue changed as the unit progressed. (RS)

Describes how the author uses the poems of Edgar Lee Masters'"Spoon River Anthology" in her developmental writing classes to foster literary discussion, build vocabulary, and teach a broad range of essay writing skills. (SR)

A writing center tutor's experience with a basic composition student named Tonja, while limited to seven tutoring sessions and, in the tutor's words, not amenable to claims of universality, reveals indications of the growth of the student as a writer, and the growth of the tutor as well. Discussions between the writer and the tutor were a learning…

Writing processes and writing skills are highly compatible, but only if "writing skills" are defined as genuinely helpful learning strategies rather than prescriptive techniques or isolated forms and rules. Increased skill is a product of meaningful practice, not prescriptive instructions or isolated drills. In the present context, the…

Argues for a progressive version of mainstreaming remedial writers through a focus on one student who benefited from a two-semester course responsive to diverse language and cultural backgrounds. Discusses the political dimensions of mainstreaming which are an indelible aspect of writing program administration. (TB)

As students enter college, English composition instructors complain that students lack essential grammar basics to create clear, coherent pieces of writing. The number of students requiring developmental coursework at institutions has increased significantly since the institution of mandatory placement in 2000. In the face of the challenge to…