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…

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)

Argues that the perennial problem of boring student writing is solved when assignments provide writers with target readers, enabling students to find their appropriate voice. Discusses a sample assignment in which students explain how to do something they do well to readers who don't know how to do it. (JG)

Presents a simple classroom exercise that transforms a remote future need for grammatical competence into a more practical, immediate, and useful skill. (HTH)

Examines how patent specifications can be used as structural models for teaching technical description-writing. Describes a series of writing assignments to introduce patents to undergraduate technical-writing students. (MM)

Discusses techniques for teaching advanced writers to use punctuation to create rhetorical effects. (MS)

Describes a final writing assignment in which students themselves must propose a writing assignment and rationale for future use in the classroom. The assignment forces students to examine what they have learned in the course and gives the teacher some insight into what has not been taught successfully. (HTH)

Provides analysis of an imaging exercise. Describes how one experience became something unexpected as imaging met imagination. Lists five steps for teachers to use in conducting the exercise. (PA)

Describes a practical freshman composition writing assignment in which students composed career profiles of notable alumni, which were subsequently used by the college career planning and placement office. A sample letter and profile are included. (HTH)

Lists eight ways to develop a topic for a composition. (DF)

Coaching is the central activity in the "game" of teaching, and it is an activity that can have a lifetime effect on language learners. This book presents a "coaching approach" to instruction in written language--an approach that is eclectic, pragmatic, synthetic. The approach in the book centers on finding balance--ways of…

Explains how to use various periodicals to demonstrate to composition students that writing style is both accessible and controllable. (AEA)

Describes a writing exercise to help technical writing students determine the appropriate methods of extension for technical definitions, decide which terms need to be defined for a particular audience, and place definitions effectively in the document. (MM)