This study was designed to determine whether a student's level of critical thinking would be increased by exposure to programmed materials which emphasized the use of qualifying words in avoiding over-generalizations. Seventy 8th graders were randomly divided into two groups--one experimental, the other control--which were judged to be equivalent…

This analysis of 20th-century Negro literature contains chapters discussing 16 authors: (1) "The First Forty Years: 1900-1940," including W. E. B. DuBois, Charles W. Chesnutt, James W. Johnson, Paul L. Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen; (2) "Migration: William Attaway and 'Blood on the Forge'"; (3) "Richard…

The practicing writer encounters four determinants of his use of prose. First, the language itself determines the expression: English, with its wealth of words and styles and with few traditional restrictions, provides problems of choice and temptations to overwrite. Second, the application of verse forms to the novel and a demand for consistently…

Contemporary poetry can be of value in the study of composition as a model of careful, concise, and effective use of language. Students can observe and, hopefully, imitate the poet's precise use of (1) vocabulary, (2) supporting materials, (3) introductions and conclusions, (4) transitional words and phrases, and (5) a variety of types of diction…

This poetry assignment for college freshmen involved preparing a paper. Reading of an Unterecker essay on poetry, extensive reading in a chosen poet, study of criticism, and organization of the paper are discussed. Excerpts from the results are included. Results are discussed in relation to the appreciation of poetry and composition skills. (AF)

If the best criticism of art is another work of art, studying the act of translation (the movement of ideas from one area or method of expression to another, such as between languages, between ancient and modern, between literature and life) can be of value to the English teacher. Bad translations, as exemplified in the condensation and…

A critical review of Bernard Knox's literary analysis of Sophocles'"Oedipus the King" in a four-lesson film series is offered largely as a "warning" to high school teachers. Central to the criticism is the author's belief that Professor Knox has imposed a reductive and marginal interpretation on the play which tends to obscure…

Intended as a guide to scholarship in 16th-century English literature and culture, this selective listing provides coverage of the major works and topics, with emphasis on work published in the 20th century. Omitted are unpublished dissertations and most literary histories, bibliographies of bibliography, short notes and explications, and older…

This bibliography of scholarship in Old and Middle English Literature (before 1525) attempts to cover selectively the major works and topics and to represent adequately the minor ones. English and American scholarship since 1965 is emphasized. For the Old English period, entries are under the following headings: Texts; Reference and General Works;…

This junior high school study guide supplements Gore Vidal's "Visit to a Small Planet." Included are quizzes (with answer keys) and teaching suggestions on the presentation of the opus, oral reports, reading comprehension, various acts of the play, vocabulary and word analysis, sentence patterns and tranformations, language usage,…

The literature of the Negro Renaissance needs to be re-examined from the purview of the pervasiveness of the conflicts apparent in such literary themes as the tragic mulatto, the glorified and idealistic African past, the alienation from American culture, and an implied, and at times overt, self-hatred. The Renaissance literature reflects the…

Designed to assess analytically the quality of children's fictional stories, this study is composed of a set of twelve scales: structure, word usage, characterization, setting, point of view, conversation, detail, appeals to senses, values, ending, sentence structure, and situation. Each scale is scored 0, 1, or 2, with the highest possible score…

Communication theories provide some assistance to these involved with interpretive reading, but the performance of literature calls for its own theory based on meaning and the unique qualities of interpretive skills. Theories of meaning involve both word meaning, based on the generalized processes of shared language experiences, and a personalized…

This issue of "Schulpraxis," a Swiss journal for language teaching, is devoted to Italian instruction in Switzerland. It includes: (1) an interpretation of the poem "Le morte chitarre" by Salvatore Quasimodo, conducted in a girls' school in German Switzerland, (2) a presentation of principles for an Italian textbook to be based…

This work provides students of English Literature with a selective guide to important writers and their works from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present. The first chapter presents reference materials on English literature in general; each entry includes complete bibliographic information. A chronological arrangement is used in chapters two…