Reviews two books by Susan Miller: "Rescuing the Subject: A Critical Introduction to Rhetoric and the Writer" (1989) and "Textual Carnivals: The Politics of Composition" (1991). Notes how she rereads dominant histories of rhetoric and writing instruction, argues for a theory of textuality, and illustrates how attention to…

Compares J. Agee's film reviews for "Time" and "The Nation," concluding he assumed a more knowledgeable, sophisticated audience in readers of "The Nation." Analyzes content, style, and structure of reviews, showing loose structure, deductive reasoning, and rambling style in "Nation" reviews, and coherent,…

Argues that teachers of writing are more concerned about good writing than about good writers, and that they should instead strive to improve the experience of writing, even if that means throwing out the piece of writing produced. (JAD)

Describes method in which students write a draft requiring some writing skill before learning about that skill. Concludes that predrafting (1) enforces first-drafting; (2) shows students their natural writing abilities; (3) emphasizes discovery of substance first, rules and form second; (4) promotes an active student role; (5) arranges learning in…

Examines several pieces of writing (class assignments as well as writing done outside of school) by the author's 10-year-old daughter. Notes the different kinds of learning promoted in them, and maintains that school writing assignments should be as "real" as possible. (SR)

Argues that it is time to return figurative language to the classroom. Claims teachers should teach writers more figures, regardless of the approach to composition instruction. (MS)

Describes lessons learned about writers and writing from living with a fiction writer. Discusses implications for teachers of writing. (SR)

Proposes Toulmin approach to logic as an organic process alternative to the battlefield model of argumentation. Shows that in a Toulmin four part argument structure--data, warrant, backing and claim--the argument field from which the warrant and the backing arise determines the data available to support the claim. Thus the relativity of multiple…

Describes the writing processes involved in composing and revising a poem that was eventually published. (FL)

Argues for a more principled and careful consideration of composition handbooks. Discusses the values and measures used to evaluate handbooks, what constitutes the act of writing, what constitutes good writing, and who writes and why. Lists questions to serve as a guide for instructors in handbook selection. (TB)

Explores Gertrude Buck's approach to argumentation demonstrating the intellectual and social significance of her work and showing how she introduced a democratic ethics encouraging Vassar women to take a more active and public role in society. Focuses on one of Buck's instruments of teaching writing, "A Course in Argumentative Writing"…

Asks what can an advanced composition course offer its students that is both new and valuable to all of them despite the diversity of students' fields and career goals? Argues that job-related writing requires special attention to audience. Suggests ways to organize course content to develop audience awareness. (JG)

Examines the perceptions of one experienced and four inexperienced college writers regarding the functions of writing in academic settings, citing social and personal factors influencing content and motivation. Presents 13 functions following a developmental sequence identified through inference by the researcher, including responsive, evaluative,…

Discusses the heuristic role of yes-no questions in college composition and provides two such methods for brainstorming and focusing. Presents a binary graph device ("Matrix") that correlates subjects and concerns to generate yes-no questions. Also presents a flow-chart model structuring information in the question-evidence-resolution pattern. (JG)

Explores the ways a constellation of domestic metaphors has governed relationships between composition faculty and literature faculty in English departments and, further, governed the way English studies faculty have conceived their role in American universities in the 20th century. (SR)