This paper explores the role of fairy tales in relation to literacy, affective learning, self-authoring and narrative quest. The study examines fairy tales in the context of the New Literacy Studies with regard to improving cognitive, linguistic and creative writing skills for adult literacy learners.

Research on academic literacies has predominately focused on writing practices in higher education. To account for writing practices in the digital age, this paper emphasizes the importance of extending the focus of academic literacies beyond writing to include multimodal composition. Drawing on social semiotics, we put forward a framework for…

This project was born out of my preoccupation with my students' struggle to articulate their ideas at the sentence level. After being assigned an English 102 Honors class, I realized that although the sentences of these advanced writers were grammatically correct, they were stylistically problematic because they were often obscure and evasive…

Two major goals of teaching include educating students to communicate effectively and encouraging students to critically engage with information. To what extent can student blog writing help us achieve these goals? In this pilot study, I analyze how short "blog-style" writing assignments compare to more traditional short research essays…

The purpose of this study is to explore any possible difference among the verb types chosen in articles written in English by the non-natives and natives. In so doing, Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar (1994) was employed. 80 published articles from the medical sciences field of study were chosen from among which 40 were written by native…

Coupling Royster's (2000) conceptual framework of "zamani" with Rosenblatt's (1978) reader response theory, the researcher explores the ways African American women's writings supported, nurtured, and "mentored" the writings of adolescent girls. Findings show that the mentor texts helped in generating ideas for writing, thinking…

The purpose of the present study is to find out the features of English business letters. Halliday's systemic functional linguistics is used as the theoretical framework, mainly, interpersonal fucntion. The English business letter (EBL) is an important written text used for international business communication and it has its own features of text.…

An oxymoron is a simple contradiction, a juxtaposition of two inharmonious terms, such as "fiend angelical" in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." At first glance, literature and professional writing seem to be polar opposites; however, when one views them together, one can see unique, often interesting possibilities that add…

In this paper, the authors investigate the enduring power of voice as a concept in writing pedagogy. They argue that one can benefit from considering Elbow's assertion that both text and voice be considered as important aspects of written discourse. In particular, voice is a powerful metaphor for the material, social and historical nature of…

Writing assessments have attended to the mechanics of writing, reflecting a value on the teaching of writing conventions. One quality of writing rarely assessed is authorial voice, a personal style that communicates the author's stance toward events reported and the author's relationship to the audience. The authors explore associations among…

The second part of an interview with David Halberstam shows how he mixes discipline, instinct, and delight to uncover and retell stories. Halberstam's comments demonstrate the interest and intensity that are the hallmarks of any serious writer. (RL)

Elements of a writer's style reveal to readers what sort of a person it is with whom they are spending time. These revelations are important because they are a mark of respect for readers. To develop style, follow these guidelines. Find a subject to care about and which others should care about. It is this caring which will be the most seductive…

Examines Francis Bacon's intentionally devised style for scientific writings and the theoretical basis of that style. Discusses his emphasis on a truly objective point of view, and his use of aphorisms to adapt to his audience. (HTH)

Offers evidence suggesting that the styles of famous authors--and probably most writers--are less distinctive than popular opinion allows. Proposes tentative hypotheses concerning the convergence of fundamental styles and the confusion in distinguishing between style and subject matter. (RL)

Discusses the qualities that move nonfiction writing to a literature of fact: intellectual content, passionate enthusiasm, and a writing style that incorporates storytelling skill, descriptive power, vivid prose, graphic excellence, and sharply defined focus. (AEA)