If writing teachers want to use modality effectively, they first have to deal with three problems: identification of markers of modality in English; representation (the use of models for modality); and correlation (pedagogical usefulness, and writing strategies for students). Two models of modality address the problems which writing teachers…

This book explains how to work with ideas to hone them into words, providing techniques and exercises for brainstorming, choosing the right approach, working with an unknown or boring assigned topic, and selecting the best point of view. It presents 10 steps, noting related problems: (1) "Decide on Size" (no specific length is assigned);…

Comprehensive and logically sequenced, this guide seeks to helps educators publish on topics such as classroom experience, conference presentations, or research projects. Included in the guide are practical strategies, concrete examples, recommended resources, and advice from experts. The guide focuses on writing and how it is approached and…

"Inkshedding" grew out of a process of trying to make "freewriting" into something dialogically transactional. The idea was to give writing a social role in a classroom, and thus to create a situation in which the writing was read by real readers, to understand and respond to what was said rather than to evaluate and "help" with the writing. In…

Notebooks have been used to document scientific discovery and are considered effective tools in the classroom. They make science experiences more meaningful and authentic for students as they observe, record, and reflect upon what they have learned. Notebook writing also offers a natural way to integrate science and language arts. This book…

Examines the pitfalls of teaching and conceiving of writing in terms of content and form. Suggests that writing instructors and their students should think in rhetorical terms: how discourse responds to other discourse or to its audience, i.e., how it most effectively gets the job done. (TB)

Discusses the usefulness to second language learning of an activity in which students assume a pen name and write letters under that name in the language studied in order to motivate their interest in the language and accelerate their mastery of it. (CK)

Notes that educators must think about the possibilities for using autobiographical narrative ethically and effectively in academic writing and research, and they need to ask how the personal affects writing that is less personal. Considers how regardless of the stance toward the personal, no one can be an informed writer or reader without…

Examines direct mailing included in a nationally publicized court case. Articulates how the use of particular genre-based, rhetorical and linguistic strategies in these mailing construct reader identity. Argues that the documents use you-attitude to construct the identity of the reader as winner and to establish the reader's identity as the…

Describes a successful use of portfolios to assess the development of eleventh grade students' writing skills by inviting self-reflection and encouraging students to assume control over their writing. (KEH)

An elementary teacher presents suggestions for helping students focus their thinking, find a central theme, and develop story ideas for writing. She describes how to demonstrate focus in writing (via teacher's writing, professional authors, and student's writing) and how to develop focus when conferencing. (SM)

Argues that technical writers who develop broader writing skills prove to be more valuable to their employers during periods of economic downturn. Offers an overview of the basic skills needed to write marketing, advertising, and public relations documents. (PRA)

Describes a first-year composition sequence of assignments using the topic of family to allow students to write essays based on their own experiences. Notes that the sequence eventually requires that students also address connected ideas and then reflect on the convergence of the personal and analytical. (PRA)

Maintains that magazine and journal articles can be a powerful marketing and education tool. Discusses planning an article, getting the most from the material, and working with editors. (SR)

Analysis of the think-aloud protocols used by advanced-level (n=9) English-as-a-Second-Language writers used in completing sentence-combining tasks showed that they engaged in such strategies as restating content, constructing meaning, higher- and lower-level planning, and evaluating the appropriateness of constructions, but not attending to…