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…

This essay, in letter form, introduces graduate-level study in Basic Writing to practicum students. It situates teaching practices within Basic Writing histories and pedagogies, and invites readers to focus widely, read deeply, and keep writing. Included are lessons from Bernstein's experiences in presenting David Bowie's artistic and cultural…

Describes a program in which upper-level content courses feature a workshop on the writing assignments required in the course. The workshops focus primarily on prewriting and revision techniques. (HTH)

Explains how and why three crises caused a paradigm shift in one professor's way of teaching new teaching assistants to teach writing. Explains how as teachers and students became a family--a community of writers--each person in that community found a voice. (MG)

Examines the use of music as a springboard for writing. Provides an explanation of how basic writing students can use music-writing activities to discover meaningful topics and ideas, to develop specific supporting details, and to understand the connections between purpose and audience. (RS)

Describes a method for reorienting the deeply ingrained attitudes of teaching assistants toward writing by introducing them to a variety of writing problems that will give them insights into the difficulties both teachers and students encounter in the classroom. (HTH)

Describes efforts of the faculty writing workshop at New York University to help teachers redefine themselves as writing teachers based on being a writer rather than a teacher. Describes the activities and rationale for each workshop. (HTH)