Explores the use of the term "voice" in written discourse as a metaphor for "authority," a quality that distinguishes an effective writer. Proposes a "scale of negotiation" and a sequence of assignments for a 15-week term in which students gradually establish a position of authority over their texts. (RS)

Suggests writing instructors reconsider the way they represent to students the nature and function of thesis statements, particularly in their first-year rhetorics. Notes that the conventions of disputation and argument are increasingly challenged by the growing value various disciplines are placing on uncertainty, mediation, and exploration in…

Notes that personal writing continues to proliferate, especially in freshman composition and basic writing courses. Argues that overemphasis on personal writing, on finding a "voice," may become exclusionary rather than liberating. Argues that it is crucial to teach students how to read, react to, and write about anything beyond the…

Argues that composition theory and classroom practice demonstrate that validating oral discourse during the composing process is a necessary, effective, and theoretically justifiable means of transforming experienced speakers into experienced writers. (RS)

Describes a first-year composition sequence of assignments using the topic of family to allow students to write essays based on their own experiences. Notes that the sequence eventually requires that students also address connected ideas and then reflect on the convergence of the personal and analytical. (PRA)

Working with first-year students at Purdue University, the author, a composition instructor, joined efforts with librarian Alexius Smith-Macklin to explore the efficacy of a collaborative approach to freshman writing instruction at the university level. Combining expertise from the Purdue programs of English education, theory and cultural studies,…

Describes a research paper, modeled after scientific research papers and dissertations, with a four-part format including introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion. Notes that the model is suited to students' first encounter with professional research because it encourages reflection on the research process itself. (MM)

Calls for careful and informed use of multicultural texts in the English classroom. Examines how students resist the study of difference. Considers how a teacher might help students read and write differently. Shows how peer response to student writing can be improved. (HB)

States that freshman composition should make freshmen more able to communicate in academic discourse and that each professor teaches the students with emphasis on personal beliefs. Examines the dilemma of freshman composition as a service course. Calls for more and better use of the personal narrative as an alternative way of approaching the so…

Advocates a revival of oral communication, historically an element of classical rhetorical training. Points out that talk that focuses on noticeably literary texts and approaches does not encourage dialogic inquiry. Provides a model for fostering more casual discussion of student writing and literary texts. (HB)

Describes how a two-semester sequence of college freshman composition can be built around material relevant to hearing-impaired students, using group-directed assignments and strengthening students' motivation as readers and writers. (MM)

Suggests that composition courses can strengthen ties between reading literature and writing about it. Shows how writing assignments that originate in readings of literary texts encourage students'"writerliness." Provides a sample satiric sketch assignment sheet. (MM)

Describes a research paper assignment which asks students to choose a significant contribution in any discipline, to detail what that contribution has been, to discover any controversy surrounding the contribution, and to assess the status of the contribution today. (MM)