Uses a single language system--technical description--to illustrate how language systems can now be used as the basis for instruction in technical writing. Provides sample exercises in progressive teaching from simple description to complex continuity devices, showing how they can be used at all stages of the writing process. (HTH)

Describes a synonym exercise--composing an essay without using the verbs "be,""have,""go," or "get"--which increases students' awareness of at least six different language features. (MM)

Describes rewriting examples of good writing into "ordinary" writing, to identify what elements of style made the original version so effective. (HTH)

Suggests assigning interview reports to students in order to avoid the problem of lack of teacher expertise on a technical topic. Discusses various formats for this kind of report and ways to implement the interview report. (SRT)

Describes writing assignments that help students make the transition from concrete to formal operations. The assignments confront the writers with an idea or piece of experience, ask them to respond to it and how they arrived at this response, and what other responses could be made by them or by someone else. (HTH)

Describes a freshman composition assignment in which students create fictional figures and approach a final biography about the figure through a series of shorter essays. (HTH)

Describes an assignment in which students are taught to develop poetry using the ideas and words found in newspaper or magazine stories. Includes model poems. (HTH)

Proposes as a follow-up to an article on controlled composition for basic writers a necessary bridge between strict copying and independent composing. (HTH)

Describes two strategies to help students start writing poetry. The first involves underlining key subject words in poems or replacing them with other subject words. In the second, students record interesting facts about an animal and rearrange them in order of interest. (BC)

Relates the self-determination principles underlying the Outward Bound wilderness program to one teacher's writing instruction objectives. Describes two of the writing assignments resulting from this application. (HTH)

Describes writing folders (used to hold children's personal and creative writing efforts for an entire school year) and how they may be used effectively. (FL)

A systematic individual instruction program was employed to teach three profoundly retarded adults selected physical fitness exercises. Results indicated that the adults learned the selected exercises and generalized the exercises to a group physical fitness program. Performance on nontrained exercises also improved without additional individual…

Suggests assigning students a spontaneous "how-to" paper the first day of class to clarify the need for audience and purpose considerations. (HTH)

Describes a method for encouraging students to develop a reflective/exploratory essay. Students are asked to freewrite or brainstorm on several famous quotations, exploring the disparity between the appearance and the reality. Students then write essays on some of the ideas conveyed by one of the quotes. (HTH)

Describes several activities for generating writing ideas and writing assignments to capitalize on those activities. Assignments include recording the experience, describing a reaction to the experience, or forming a generalization based on the experience or a principle formalized as the result of the activity. (HTH)