The 1,175 composition topics that appear in this special edition of the "Illinois English Bulletin" are suggested as possibilities for high school student writing assignments. After a brief statement about how secondary English teachers might use the topics in their classes, the topics are categorized by subject matter and types of composition.…

Argues that asking students to write in concrete images about specific events and places serves to emphasize the importance of writing from detailed personal experiences. (RL)

Each of these ten creative writing assignments includes a model poem, a writing idea, and suggested discussions or activities related to the writing idea. The assignments can be used to stimulate either poetry or prose writing. (Author/AA)

Describes several assignments and activities that focus on writing for "real-world" purposes, including writing to pen pals, government agencies, and for children or the elderly. (MM)

Reports on an interdisciplinary teachers' workshop procedure for collaborating on theme and essay question assignment writing. Outlines the process of examining assignments and describes the discussion of one assignment critiqued in the workshop. Emphasizes the relationship between assignment purpose and writing assessment and the students'…

Describes a writing assignment that uses the song "America the Beautiful" to point the following six reasons why America is beautiful: skies, mountains, grain, Pilgrims, heroes, and dreams. (NKA)

An argument for using various letter writing assignments to help students develop their writing voices. (RL)

Assignments, grading methods, and classroom techniques for teaching creative writing in the high schools. (RL)

Describes and illustrates a writing assignment in which students assume the role and the voice of someone they perceive as different from themselves, requiring attention to appropriate--not necessarily "correct"--language styles. (RL)

Recommends having students keep a reading journal on reading assignments as a way of getting them involved in reading, thinking, and discussion. (EL)

Shows how it is possible to explore the changing role of women by working within the framework of the typically basics-oriented English classroom. (EL)

Presents a checklist for a good writing assignment, illustrating its value through the development of an assignment based on a short story by Jack London. (RL)

Shows how a writing exercise requiring students to write to themselves five years into the future has a dramatic effect on them and helps them, perhaps for the first time, to think about their futures. (TB)

Describes research, practice, and resources for giving students writing activities in several rhetorical contexts and to various audiences. (RL)

Based on research using participant and nonparticipant observation in a natural setting, a study examined how teaching practices, classroom conditions, and student differences influenced the design of writing lessons in 14 English classes in five inner city schools. Data were collected from five sources--interviews, writing samples,…