Explores rhetorical specification in writing tasks by examining responses to a poorly constructed task used in large-scale placement testing at a major university. Argues that fictional scenarios (writing prompts which give student writers a role to play) can be effective, provided that the roles created are reasonable ones for students to adopt.…

Built around the case method approach recommended by the Carnegie Foundation in their report "A Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21st Century," this hands-on, practical book presents 33 cases to absorb, analyze, and solve. The cases in the book dramatize the learning difficulties of students and the instructional options of teachers and…