Facetiously examines heuristics in mumbling, staring, moving, doodling, and noise that can be used by writing teachers to help their writing students with rhetorical invention. (RL)

Sets forth strategies intended to provide classroom teachers with some options that enhance writing for all students, but also provide special needs students with the structure they need to be successful as well. Describes the writing process, which includes prewriting activities, creating a draft, reviewing and revising, editing for polish,…

Writing teachers can enable students to think critically by teaching composition courses according to two principles: sequencing and revision. The teaching of a basic reading and writing course for college freshmen illustrates how writing, taught from a discovery perspective and in conjunction with selected readings, can develop students' ability…

While close analysis of individual composing processes has been the major accomplishment of recent writing research, this research has not yet sufficiently considered how students develop as learners. The work of William Perry, a developmental psychologist, can contribute to an understanding of that development. Based on an analysis of interviews…

The English Department and the composition class are mired in the trappings of Romanticism. Romanticism ingratiates itself, mostly in infatuation with the writing process, but with some other fetishes as well. The "whitecentric" character of that Romanticism imbues instruction; it is not just innocuous and "old hat," but really damaging. Students…

Scholars in the communications field rarely have discussed speech composition, and this conversation is long overdue. Reconceptualizing the basic course as advanced composition can enhance the integrity and reputation of the course. Several noteworthy implications emerge that suggest the desirability of operationalizing such a conception,…

Describes the cooperative learning activities and writing process techniques used in writing classes that include students from 14 different countries. Most students report greater confidence and comfort learning writing through group work. Teaching the process of writing helps the majority of students to recognize and appreciate the value of…

This article describes the experience of grade one through two students with language disorders as they put together the parts of literacy knowledge necessary for each to discover a writing process that produced readable work. Included are perspectives of how to help students make sense of the literacy code. (Author/SW)

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 is one of a series of teacher-written curriculum publications launched by the Bay Area Writing Project, each focusing on a different aspect of the teaching of composition. After a brief introduction in which the writing concepts of fluency, shape, and correctness are defined, the rest of the booklet presents the work of three…

A comparative study examined the extent of growth in overall writing quality of college freshmen to determine whether feedback from the instructor during planning and the composing process (especially on the computer) was more effective than another instructor's feedback during conferences on each final, graded writing product in the students'…

Suggests that defining critical thinking as assessing authenticity, accuracy, and worth of knowledge claims and arguments also describes the historian's role. Recommends teaching students history in such a way as to necessitate higher level thinking skills. Argues that the writing process helps because it requires evaluation of existing data and…