Designed to combine the science and the art of teaching composition, this series of assignments encourages junior high and high school writing students to explore tone, original visual images, point of view, and other literary techniques. One assignment asks students to write a number of paragraphs alternately using sarcasm, humor, melancholy, and…

A study examined whether using a tree diagram (a graphic, multidimensional classification device) as a prewriting organizer would provide students with a systematic method of searching for and organizing the content of their descriptive writing to meet some communication goal. One-hundred twenty-three seventh grade students were classified as…

Noting that effective writing instruction depends on careful planning informed by knowledge of the writing process and its variations in relation to different audiences and purposes, this teacher's guide explains the nature of the writing process and how it relates to instruction. The purposes of the guide are threefold: to highlight current…