As a solution to the problems presented by approaches to teaching English composition that are almost purely cognitive in nature, an experimental course was offered for freshmen at the Miami-Dade Community College. The course was designed to be holistic and confluent, synthesizing both the cognitive and affective domains by incorporating Gestalt…

This special issue of "Kansas English" focuses on composition, culture, and citizenship. Included in this issue are the following articles: "Composing: When Artifice Is a Real Help" by Tom Hemmens and Micheal Roberts, which discusses the composing process and suggests various artifices, such as structure charts and sketch outlines, as a means of…

Identifies community college students, the educational needs of these students, and the instructional methods necessary for meeting these needs. Specific types of practical writing exercises are listed. (MH)

Presents two teaching methods that lend structure to the teaching of poetry writing. (MAI)

Both in standard factors of syntactic maturity and in measures of overall writing quality, first year college students trained in sentence combining achieved significantly higher scores than students following a conventional curriculum. (DD)

The treatment group of college freshmen, which worked with the Strong-Christensen sentence-combining materials during an intensive six-week period, scored significantly higher on two factors of syntactic maturity than the control group. (DD)

There is evidence that the ability to produce syntactically complex structures in a foreign language can be accelerated through a different strategy for teaching writing. A writing strategy is outlined which introduces the student gradually and in a very structured way to the concept of sentence-combining. (CHK)

This article describes a health education class in which the students actively engage in improving their own health by physical activity and good nutrition. They are graded on the success of the program they undertake by clear proof of better physical condition. (JD)

Describes a six-phase writing assignment for ESL students to help them grasp the concept of an audience beyond the writing instructor. (HTH)

Discusses various ways that writing can facilitate learning in a developmental psychology course. Argues that writing assignments are valuable because they promote active learning and provide another way to teach psychology. (Author/GEA)

Describes an historical narrative assignment that stimulates students' interest in questions of rhetoric and scholarship as it requires students to combine role-playing, research, and revision. Discusses how students' role as participant/persona in writing the story prompts an intricate multiplicity of decisions as it forces them to filter data…

Presents an editorial assignment that addresses students' inability to formulate and stick to a theme, and their lack of tight writing, by highlighting the similarities between editorial writing and magazine writing. (HTH)

Suggests a method of tapping students' visual literacy to reach four interconnected pedagogical aims by using a brief film segment in conjunction with a series of writings tasks. Offers two additional incentives regarding teacher's knowledge of film and the necessary element of play to keep students engaged. (JK)