This article will discuss ways to use self-regulated strategy development for argumentative writing across content areas. The goal of self-regulated strategy development is for students to generalize the use of the strategy across settings, allowing them to become fluent and proficient writers in all areas. In addition, the generalization of the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the intersection between and among creativity, cognition, composition, and community. Researchers studied hundreds of adult students from several California community colleges and private universities by means of surveys, observations, and interviews to augment an extensive historical literature review.…

This article shares strategies that educators can use to assist students in meeting the challenges of academic writing more effectively. In order to foreground an understanding of struggling writers, the text begins with a brief review of composition theory and history related to basic writers and identity. It goes on to examine classroom…

Argues that teachers in all disciplines can act as insiders in helping students to write more effectively within academic contexts. Teachers who write are even more effective because they bring expert knowledge of content and language from tacit to conscious awareness and engage themselves and their students in the teaching exchange. (Contains 13…

Focused freewriting, broadly defined as writing without stopping and editing about a specific topic, has been viewed and used as a powerful tool for developing student writing in a wide spectrum of educational contexts. This study aimed to further explore the use of focused freewriting in the context of promoting students' academic skills…

Discusses the challenge and justification for three writing instruction methods: (1) a regularly scheduled block of time for writing; (2) self-selection of topics by students; and (3) writing across the curriculum. Emphasizes the importance of creating a classroom environment and processes that nurture in students the desire to write. (TJQ)

The popular mantra "Every teacher is a teacher of reading" and several decades of emphasis on content-area literacy have not resulted in major changes in reading and writing across the curriculum in secondary schools. In this article, we argue that reading and writing strategy instruction has not focused on what really matters to content-area…

Discusses two upper division writing-intensive courses, Sociological Theory and Sociology of Religion, offered at Millsaps College (Mississippi). Argues that greater emphasis on writing in the upper-division sociology courses allows students to become better learners and better sociologists. (DB)

This article explains the Integrated Strategies Instruction Model by analyzing the problems of ineffective writers and presenting instructional techniques for framing, applying, and extending students' understanding of the executive strategy. A vignette from an eighth-grade history classroom illustrates the guidelines. Research regarding the…

Students are advised to enroll in WAC 101--a writing across the curriculum "Stretch" course--based upon SAT scores. Two types of "at risk" English composition students usually comprise a WAC 101 Stretch class. The first type are the familiar students who are underprepared for college writing courses, while the second are…

These three papers deal with ways to incorporate social studies into the language arts curriculum. The first paper, "What Social Studies Teachers Need To Know about Language Arts," provides suggestions on the writing process and how that process can be used in the social studies. Paper 2, "Applying Communications Activities to Learning Processes…

This article reviews research to examine how teaching and learning are improved with the use of narrative story materials. Stories help to focus the reader's attention and build personal connection, resulting in better retention and deeper subject-matter understanding. Four key advantages of narratives cited by D. T. Willingham are discussed. The…

Describes a follow-up study of a University of Wyoming faculty development workshop on writing across the curriculum to assess its impact on teaching roles. Compares gatekeepers (e.g., teachers control classroom discourse and enforce the discipline's conventions) and border crossers (e.g., teachers invite students to direct discourse, and create…

Writing and discussion are excellent ways for students to master content, develop analytical abilities, and become active and collaborative learners. The Writing Across the Curriculum movement offers a theoretical framework for the use of writing in instruction, maintaining that writing skills are primarily thinking skills, that writing is a…

This study examined the effect of news writing instruction in freshman composition to determine whether the diversity of instruction would result in improved writing performance and attitudes of students. Data were gathered from 71 students at a private Oklahoma college randomly assigned to three control groups (taught by a traditional approach)…