Recommends a series of questions, activities, and guidelines to make free writing more productive and generative. (MS)

Guided by the belief that free writing is something that must be learned in order to do it, the teachers and writers who coauthored this book discuss and suggest ways of learning to write and of teaching writing. Interspersed throughout the book are exercises for the reader; they must be done by the reader/teacher who hopes to teach writing.…

Freewriting is an effective means of teaching students how to develop persona in writing. One approach is to have students imagine that they are inanimate objects or nonhuman creatures, provide them with a specific situation or environment, and ask them to freewrite for five to ten minutes. Another slant is to have them become famous historical…

Free writing--writing without concern about spelling, grammar, and punctuation--provides students with opportunities to practice without being judged. Some free writing activities are described that allow teachers of subjects other than English to improve their students' writing skills without sacrificing time for their own subject. (JMD)

The principles used by Tim Gallwey in his books "The Inner Game of Tennis" and "Inner Tennis" can be applied to the teaching and learning of writing. The objective is to overcome mental obstacles which our conscious ego puts in the way of our creative self. Such obstacles as fear, lack of self-confidence, lack of concentration, trying too hard,…

After a brief discussion of discovery writing, several types of writing activities are suggested that can enhance learning and critical thinking. They include free writes, journals, electronic dialogue, collaborative writing assignments, and class newsletters. (LB)

In addition to enabling students to discover ideas and providing them with raw materials that they can shape into polished drafts, free writing can give students experience, thus making them more comfortable with writing. Beginning each class with free writing activities on topics of enough interest that they distract reluctant writers from…

Contains suggestions from five teachers on (1) the power of imagery and lessons on poetic form, (2) a writing assignment designed to arouse students' memories in writing, (3) the uses of free writing, and (4) the value of writers' conferences for writing teachers. (RL)

A teacher presents a writing exercise designed to facilitate audience-directed, critical thinking during the process of composing, that starts students thinking in terms of sorites and enthymemes. Students first read a CIA manual, "Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare," that instructs the Contra guerrillas in illegal acts and…

This paper discusses expressive writing, which can be defined as writing in a conversational and personal way. The paper explains that, in this expressive mode, writers are allowed the freedom to mull over ideas and to highlight certain ideas, even as they write, making it a vehicle for learning. The paper presents discussion on the time (i.e.,…

This book provides a theoretical underpinning for the strategy of freewriting through a collection of 16 essays that are very diverse in focus, methodology, and point of view. The essays are as follows: "Recording and Transforming: The Mystery of the Ten-Minute Freewrite" (Sheryl I. Fontaine); "Freewriting: An Aid to Rereading…

Intended for college instructors, this paper describes a course that explores the ways in which technology shapes American life by focusing on the ethical questions that technology raises. The introductory section of the paper includes a description of the course and its objectives. The next two sections contain the assignment sequence and study…

By following the "steppingstone" or marker theory of dividing one's life into no more than 12 and no less than 8 significant periods, a student in a writing course can develop a brief response for each phase to articulate multiple experiences. Writing teachers can aid students in realizing that important life experiences are the stuff of…