Argues that characters in young adult books who happen to be writers can serve as models of the writing process for students. Discusses several novels that feature young writers. (SR)

Asserts that the "Advice to Writers" project, encouraging students to articulate what they do when they write and to share those perceptions with fellow student writers, is an effective way for students to reflect on the writing process. (MM)

Uses a model of the writing process to analyze the writing of a 13-year-old boy and to shed further light on writing as process rather than product. (RL)

Presents excerpts from a student's year-end self-evaluation, including a few excerpts from her portfolio. Includes her teacher's comments, intended to confirm what the student knows, and to consider how the teacher's classroom practices may have influenced or contributed to Sarah's learning. Appends an evaluation form to help students evaluate…

Describes a writing project designed to encourage eighth-grade students to examine their past with specific objectives to: (1) complement the speech and reading components of a theme on childhood and youth; (2) introduce or review basic mechanical skills and basic research skills; and (3) introduce basic tools of expressive writing.(NH)

Presents the Wilkinson Scales for writing assessment and shows how one eighth grade student's essay, using the scales, can be evaluated for grammatical and mechanical problems without devaluing the emotion that went into its composition. (JC)

The instructional practice of imitation works most effectively as a developmental and remedial instrument within a writing-centered, student-centered pedagogy. In this context, imitation can accelerate natural language acquisition and encourage language competence and control, thus enabling student writers to focus their attention on particular…

One of a number of reports of a study of the writing development of 14- to 16-year-old students, this booklet is divided into two parts. The first part uses five criteria to analyze what four secondary students learn from composing imaginary stories: (1) What resources are used in the setting or situation? (2) What kind of ordering is used? (3)…

This booklet outlines the California state guidelines for writing which assert that students should be carefully taught to read and compose many types of discourse to prepare them for higher education, the job market, and citizenship in democracy. The booklet summarizes the purposes for which the California Assessment Program (CAP) was developed,…

Discusses strategies for improvement of the mechanical and grammatical structures of written English while still focusing on content in composition. (NKA)

Sentence combining is a powerful tool for structuring information and can be used effectively throughout the composing process. The teaching of composition can integrate into the composing process a number of concepts, including the use of heuristics, intellectual strategies, organizing principles, and sentence combining. A useful model for the…

An approach to promote student editing of their own compositions, to be used in intermediate English as a second language classes, is discussed. Although editing or monitoring may not improve the communicative accuracy of a written message, it may give the message a more native-like quality. Monitoring works best on morphemes which are acquired…

Concludes that the nature of the writing tasks assigned to students will emphasize some aspects of the curriculum and de-emphasize others. (NKA)

Designed for secondary school English teachers who wish to improve their student's writing, this book offers a philosophy of writing and classroom strategies to make students comfortable with and interested in their own writing. Chapter 1 encourages teachers to set up a "safe," comfortable environment in which their students can create.…

As part of an ongoing dialogue among teachers in California high schools, this sourcebook addresses some of the issues involved in teaching English/Language Arts at the secondary level. The sourcebook is divided into eight chapters, and begins with an overview answering questions concerning the California Model Curriculum Standards (MCS) for…