Creative writing with deaf high schoolers began with understanding and writing similes of concrete objects. Lessons then moved to more abstract ideas, including similes for deafness (eight of which are presented). Students then shared their work with the class. (CL)

Contains suggestions to improve the quality of secondary social studies students' writing. For example, teachers should stagger expository writing activities over an extended period. The intended audience of the writing should include the student's peers. (RM)

Suggested writing projects to stimulate thought-to-theme writing connections involve: (1) haiku based on animals; (2) acronyms as vocabulary builders; (3) aromas and textures as inspiration; (4) writing proverbs and fables; and (5) a "musical chairs" approach to story-writing, with props supplied at intervals to test creative technique. (FG)

Presents an exercise in descriptive writing that shows how to take a subjective statement and support or deny it using a common body of factual observations. (PA)

Describes a three-part exercise used in a first semester freshman composition class, intended to show students the world of details in even the most ordinary, everyday objects by having students write about a plastic coffee mug. (SR)

Summarizes recent research into systems of lexical and grammatical cohesion in technical description. Discusses various methods by which technical writers "re-enter" the topic of description back into the text in successive sentences. (HTH)

Presents a teaching assignment for business communication students involving library research and a process description assignment for technical writing students. (FL)

Presents a way of teaching process explanation in a technical writing course. Urges that the assignment ask students to explain a process they have learned from experience or from observation. (TJ)

In this experiment in description, students in a high school honors English class were asked to select a surrealistic painting and capture it in writing. Their compositions were given to art students who tried to reproduce the paintings from the written descriptions. (SJL)

Describes an activity to encourage students to write with specific details. Notes that (at the beginning of each class) students briefly jot down three things that have made them feel good on that particular day. Notes several other benefits of this activity. (SR)

To dramatize the need for logical organization and precise definition, students are asked to write essays describing specific everyday objects (e.g., screwdriver, nutpick). After the essay is read aloud the class tries to guess the item and comments on the effectiveness of the description. (DS)

Displays student work in "portrait exercises"--writing designed to give students a feel for characterization and to prepare them for future writing. (RL)

There are two major categories of writing, expository and creative. Expository writing includes descriptive writing (description, report, taking notes, outline, exposition, summary, letter, diary, telegram, and minutes) and argumentative writing (argumentation, essay, and comment). Creative writing includes poem, narration, tale, slogan,…

Describes how the four traditional kinds of writing (description, narration, exposition, and argumentation) are used in advertising and suggests ways that advertising and the four modes may be used to teach composition. (DD)

Describes reviewing the basics of descriptive writing by having students compare the images described in E. B. White's "Once More to the Lake," with those in the film "On Golden Pond." Students then write a descriptive paragraph, from an internal or external perspective, about a magazine advertisement chosen for its sensory appeal. (HTH)