Courses: This activity can be used in writing-based (communication) courses across various disciplines including, but not limited to, introduction to writing and rhetoric, business communication, and communication research methods. Objectives: On completion of this activity, students will develop critical reading, thinking, and writing skills as…

In the English classroom, narrative writing is often separated from the work of reading literature or used merely to coax reluctant students into discussing textually relevant topics. This article discusses a close writing activity, Image Explosion, that engages students in narrative writing that brings attention to the smallest details of…

The integration of machine translation (MT) and artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly enhanced the precision of MT systems producing translations that rival the quality of skilled human translators. This innovation has broadened the applicability of AI-enabled MT systems attracting users for a variety of purposes. This paper explores the…

Wikipedia is a widely used resource by university students, but it is not necessarily regarded as being reliable and trustworthy by them, nor is it seen as a context in which to make content contributions. This paper presents a teaching and research project that consisted in having students edit or create Wikipedia articles and testing whether or…

In this article, the author shares how a simple writing assignment sharpens students' minds and challenges their biases. He asks his students to go find a place on campus where they can comfortably sit down, a place where anybody associated with the school can go and without leaving this spot to write for 30 minutes, nonstop, about everything they…

The effects of progress feedback on university students' writing mastery goal, self-efficacy beliefs, and writing performance were examined in this experiment. Students in the experimental condition (n = 42) received progress feedback on their writing assignment, whereas students in the control condition (n = 44) received feedback without progress…

The purpose of this study was to compare scores on writing assignments from traditional, fully online courses in technical writing to pilot, hybrid courses at a southern university. A total of 232 students' assignments were compared in this study. All writing assignments were scored by six trained instructors of English using the same five point…

The language shortcuts used in text messages are becoming evident in students' academic writing assignments. This qualitative study sought to determine if the use of the shortcuts has an adverse impact on developmental students' spelling and grammar skills. This research was based on the constructivist theory, which rationalizes that students use…

Describes a two-part approach to teaching the student research paper that encourages students to make a science of developing research gathering techniques and an art of blending the gathered materials with a perspective that will make the paper more than just a summary of facts. The approach uses biography as a model for research. (HTH)

Advocates teaching both classical argumentation and Rogerian rhetoric back-to-back. Advocates assignments using both to highlight the role of audience, the importance of arrangement, the value of tone, the nature of the writer's "ethics," and the use of evidence. (MS)

Argues the necessity of bridging the gap between the personal writing traditionally assigned in basic writing courses and the academic writing which students are expected to produce in their other courses. Offers manageable strategies that enable students to articulate arguments based on sources. (MS)

Offers four reasons for using the case approach in introductory technical writing courses and a sequence of six cases that can be used. (RL)

Suggests the value to modern students of paraphrasing and describes exercises in paraphrasing. (DD)

Describes the use of "Harper's" magazine "Index" column of statistical facts as an essay prompt in freshman composition classes. Lists specific instructions for the writing assignment. Reports that students generally produce impressive, sophisticated, thoughtful, and well-written essays for this exercise. (SG)