A whole-class exercise used in college composition classes to demonstrate the writing process is described. The class works together to produce a collaborative paper, in rough draft, in one hour. Steps used to produce it include specification of topic, discussion of purpose and audience, prewriting for ideas, development of thesis and outline,…

A sentence variety exercise, used to help student writers consciously consider and control the lengths and types of sentences in their essays, is discussed. Students revised paragraphs according to the method and reflected on whether they found the exercise useful in improving their writing. Reactions were mixed, although most students were able…