Asks what can an advanced composition course offer its students that is both new and valuable to all of them despite the diversity of students' fields and career goals? Argues that job-related writing requires special attention to audience. Suggests ways to organize course content to develop audience awareness. (JG)

Reports on an interdisciplinary teachers' workshop procedure for collaborating on theme and essay question assignment writing. Outlines the process of examining assignments and describes the discussion of one assignment critiqued in the workshop. Emphasizes the relationship between assignment purpose and writing assessment and the students'…

Explores the application of social construction theory to the college composition classroom. Suggests that writing instructors should (1) examine the interpretive communities they seek to create; and (2) question what is meant by introducing students to college-level discourse. Argues that the entire university system must address this issue. (KEH)

Describes how microcomputers can assist in grading the work of beginning writers, especially repetitive errors, and how students respond to this practice. (FL)

Discusses style-developing assignments in which students simulate the characteristic features of a distinctive manner of speaking. Suggests using impersonation as an invention strategy (e.g., by adopting a controversial persona position), and to encourage stylistic fluency through parodies, dialogues, or polyphonic essays. Also suggests using…

Discusses the teaching of imaginative writing in the content area at the middle school level and indicates potential applications for such teaching at all levels. Contains extensive writing examples. (FL)

Narrates an imaginary dream in which an instructor, newly crowned King of Composition, institutes, while providing rationales based on current research, these changes in the composition program: (1) have all teaching done in conference; (2) eliminate textbooks; (3) do not require grammatical and mechanical correctness; and (4) make writing part of…

Discusses ways to teach faculty in other disciplines about writing. Offers several writing assignments for interdisciplinary faculty workshops, provides guidelines for conducting such workshops, and outlines desiderata of the content area writing assignment. Appendixes include student writing assignments from courses in various disciplines. (JG)

Presents findings of a survey of participants in writing across the curriculum workshops at the University of Vermont. Notes that although nearly every class requires student writing, the kind of assignment is generally informational, does not engage discovery and direct involvement with material, and requires writing in the particular…

Describes a writing based course in freshman world literature and summarizes tests, writing assignments, and class activities used in teaching "The Odyssey,""Metamorphoses,""Hamlet," and other works. (JG)

Describes how an integrated unit on endangered species brings research alive for second through sixth graders. Presents lessons involving pre-writing, modeling, guided practice, independent practice, revision, and publication of student papers. (KEH)

Addresses the problem of how to motivate revision of papers, such as informational reports, whose topics generate low student interest. Suggests stimulating activities, varied approaches to assigning and presenting topics, and gives examples of some successful assignments. (JG)

Examines the long-term effects of the 1980 Virginia Tech Faculty Writing Workshop, a writing across the curriculum workshop that trained teachers from a variety of disciplines to use writing as a means of teaching their disciplines. Shows writing across the curriculum programs work, but that teaching through writing does require increased time and…

Describes the experiences of teachers participating in writing-across-the-curriculum workshops and the successful implementation of interdisciplinary teaching methods at La Salle University. Concludes that the program has not only improved the use of writing in all disciplines but has contributed to global transformations in teaching practices.…