Discusses three books on Zen and writing that (1) question assumptions of Western discourse and literacy practices; (2) offer ideas to help individual writers unearth their creative energy and potential; (3) advocate alternative discursive practices; (4) discuss possibilities of an embodied literacy predicated on kindness and compassion; and (5)…

Discusses two ways of organizing writing: "imitative" or "natural" order, which reflects either chronology or spatiality; and "imposed" order, in which topical materials have been restructured in a significant way. Argues that all rhetorical alternatives should be considered when teaching writing. (MM)

Argues for using the metaphor of the contract as a principal strategy for teaching students how to craft introductions. (SR)

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…

Discusses a literacy-enhancement program for undereducated university staff members tutored by college students taking a composition course on literacy. Focuses on the essays of one college student to illustrate how the sequence of writing assignments in the course fostered the reading and writing processes of academic literacy. (SR)

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

Analyzes the research process by examining student journals from a research paper course in which volunteers recorded their reactions to articles, how they were developing their topic, and problems they encountered. Concludes that the blocks encountered in the research process are more complex than and different from those encountered in other…

Presents specific implications of writing research for teachers who work with gifted youngsters in elementary school writing. Supports the use of derived plot patterns and point of view as two types of literature-based writing assignments that work especially well with gifted students. (MS)

Describes one teacher's attempts to move her students from rote learning to reasoning. Elaborates on the use of a standardized multiple-choice test as a basis for evoking students' arguments concerning defensible answers and reasons they are defensible. (JAD)

Studies five peer-response groups in a freshman composition class before and after a semester of reading and responding to literature. Examines how the reading of literature affects the quality of responses to student written texts. Demonstrates the potential that the reading of and responding to literary texts holds for peer response. (MG)

Discusses a case study which suggests that educators should reexamine the way they presently teach reading and writing. Focuses on some of the educational/psychological contexts that influence the tacit reading/writing model of the subject. (MG)

Illustrates the debate between (1) those holding the mechanic view that form must be imposed on writing, enabling the selection of relevant details, and (2) those holding the neo-Coleridgean organic view that as one writes one's thinking assumes shape, structure being indivisible from content. Contrasts textbooks by R. Decker and D. Murray. (JG)

Investigates students' evaluations of their best and worst papers. Finds that: researching and writing processes dominated evaluations; grades did not play a significant role in their judgment; interest in the topic was a factor in their evaluations; and their written texts lost impact by the time of the retrospective evaluation. (RS)

Criticizes the focus among some educators upon the writing process. Notes that all writers do not follow the same process and that teaching students otherwise oversimplifies writing instruction and diminishes efforts to improve it. Explains a "scaffolding" approach which involves outlining of increments in a writing process without…

Relates how a microcomputer with word processing capabilities can facilitate and enrich a student's writing. (HOD)