Examines how students decide how to approach spelling questions in their writing. Suggests several strategies to help students improve their spelling abilities. Concludes that all of the strategies place the burden of responsibility on the writer--the student--to communicate effectively. Notes the importance of students shifting from inventive…

Argues that a piece of fictional writing could be counted as a doctoral thesis, focusing on qualities that are critical for a fictional doctoral thesis (particularly the self-conscious method) and on writing techniques that could enable those qualities (e.g., direct explanation, authorial intervention, and character intervention). (SM)

Notes that the college writing style model is based on a wide range of research conducted in the United States and abroad. Notes the writing style model is comprehensive because it explains strategies writers use in relation to writers' beliefs, writing environments, and written products. Concludes with recommendations for instruction that…

The experience of two teachers in teaching persuasive writing to their students is narrated. Persuasive writing can be taught in a principled way while also preparing students for high-stakes tests.

Mastery of content area reading in science and social studies is demonstrated through writing as well as reading. Integrating writing with reading enhances comprehension because the two are reciprocal processes. Therefore, teachers who implement a variety of writing strategies help students better understand content area texts. This article offers…

It is sometimes assumed that the strongest opportunities for developing imagination and empathy through children's writing lie in narrative starting points, whereas other less obviously literary writing forms are more readily associated with functional literacy. Consequently, writing regarded as non-literary is rarely analysed with these qualities…

In this article, the author discusses the five-paragraph essay, a way of organizing ideas into an introduction with a main argument, three body paragraphs that develop that argument, and a conclusion that advances the argument a step further by way of application or tantalizing suggestion. She stresses the importance of teaching the five-paragraph…

Extending S. Graham and K. R. Harris's (2003) self-regulated strategy development model, this study examined whether self-regulation procedures would increase the effectiveness of a writing strategies training designed to improve 4th graders' (N = 113) composition skills. Students who were taught composition strategies in conjunction with…

The under-achievement of boys in the language components of standardised tests, together with a perception of boys as having negative attitudes towards the English curriculum, has led to boys being positioned as struggling writers. This article reflects critically on this construction, drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research Council…

During the spring semester of 2006 the Department of Physical Education (John Jay College of Criminal Justice) and a writing fellow, an English doctoral candidate (CUNY Graduate Center), began working together, with the goal of creating a new writing assignment for an integral course at the college. PED 103, Personal Physical Fitness and Dynamic…

Research on persuasive writing by elementary children posits primarily a developmental perspective, claiming that elementary-age children can effectively argue through talk but not through writing. While this view is commonly held, this article presents counterevidence. Drawing on two cases of third and fourth grade children writing persuasive…

When, why, and how clinicians decide to write about clients are ethical concerns. There are risks and potential clinical ramifications as well as responsibilities for how these decisions are made. On the basis of 141 interviews with psychoanalysts who have published in 3 major national and international psychoanalytic journals, the author explores…

Three studies examined the effectiveness of teaching an unfamiliar prose form using prose modeling (duplicating defining characteristics of a model text using different content). First, English department instructors at four universities were surveyed and of the 70 who responded, 76% stated that they did use modeling in their classrooms. In the…

Writing instructors who would like to move beyond the collaboration provided by workshops and peer-response groups might consider asking groups of students to write a collage together. According to Peter Elbow, a collage "consists not of a single perfectly connected train of explicit thinking or narrative but rather of fragments: arranged how…

The goal of persuasive writing is to move the reader to action or to get the reader to refrain from action, and most of the secrets of persuasion can work either way. To get readers to take action, a writer has to appeal to the emotions as much as possible. To get readers to refrain from action, a writer must appeal to the intellect. The secrets…