This article reviews the deeply conflicted literature on learning transfer, especially as it applies to rhetorical knowledge and skill. It then describes a study in which six students are followed through their first co-op work term to learn about which resources they draw on as they enter a new environment of professional writing. It suggests…

Creative writing workshops typically feature a gag rule and emphasize purported flaws. This structure limits students' meaningful engagement with each other's work; positions the author as inherently flawed; and positions other participants as authority figures, passing judgment without articulating their aesthetic standards. I propose an…

Argues that teachers need to be aware of the diverse conceptual demands made by writing assignments in various disciplines; illustrates this by analyzing four assignments. (DD)

Describes what students' think a failing paper reveals about their writing ability. (DD)

Contends that students need to be taught how to analyze their audience and to adapt what they say to that audience. Describes teaching methods used to introduce students to the use of a heuristic model for audience analysis in written discourse. (FL)

Offers suggestions on ways to introduce a workshop audience (of faculty, teaching assistants, or new composition instructors) to composing as women. Discusses classroom structure, teaching the composing process, the rhetorical situation, designing writing assignments, teaching expository form, using peer review groups, responding to drafts,…

Presents a title-writing exercise which can be completed in class in 20 to 30 minutes. Asserts that the exercise works for many writers as a strategy for focusing and developing. (PRA)

Wrestles with the question of what kind of assignment to give to composition students at the University of Pittsburgh. Tries to strike a balance between critical reading and creativity, between work and play. Finds that "experimental writing" helps resolve the conflicts. Works to bring such writing into the classroom. (PA)

A satisfying assignment for college freshman composition classes is to send students out to interview working writers in the college community. (HOD)

Advocates using the case approach in college writing classes. Suggests that asking students to play the roles of participants in a situation, whether real or imaginary, helps them learn to address a particular audience with a clear purpose. Offers a case approach with discussion questions and possible assignments. (RL)

Discusses a process to guide students at various levels of writing ability to inquire into unfamiliar and often intimidating subject areas. Notes the process is based on a Piagetian learning cycle that asks students to identify areas of cognitive dissonance, and to engage in a conversation about ways of resolving their uncertainty. (RS)

Presents an extended sequence of reading and writing assignments using John Hersey's "Hiroshima" to introduce composition students to the nature of interpretation, understanding, and composing. Stresses learning through enactment. (RAE)

Discusses the rationale for experimenting with diverse discourse alternatives in writing classrooms. Offers examples of the readings that inspire the author and her students, as well as samples of student essays. (SR)

Reports observations of two courses of Community Service Writing wherein the teacher incorporated community-based writing assignments in order to help students writing outside the university. Finds that the curriculum did not support students' transitions to nonacademic settings. Calls for a model of rhetorically focused composition instruction…

Presents two journal exercises teachers can use to help their students develop and apply their cognitive skills. Asserts that the exercises help students to integrate what many consider to be dichotomous and frequently contradictory activities--feeling and thinking. Cites G. Lakoff and M. Johnson's "Metaphors We Live By" for the theoretical…