Breaking down gender barriers in composition and literature classrooms suggests that teachers rethink the forms of writing they demand of their students (e.g., argumentation and exposition) and that they encourage a wide range of approaches which account for gender-specific modes of writing and interpreting texts. Various writing assignments such…

At the end of the fifth year of a successful, ever expanding freshman seminar program, students in selected sections of the course, who were also enrolled in developmental reading/writing, were asked to evaluate the worthiness of the goals in terms of their own freshman year experience. The fifth year was a new pilot year for the program. Some…

A first-year composition instructor designed a 3-week unit on folklore that fulfilled a requirement that students produce writing based on field research at some time during the semester. The unit begins with a discussion of the concepts of folklore, folklore genres, and the role that folklore serves in folk and ethnic groups and cultures,…

Given the affective dimension of writing in the workplace, assignments based on casebook scenarios have definite advantages in a technical or professional writing course. An English professor surveyed faculty in the Schools of Business and Education at Rider College prior to revising a course in technical writing. A majority of faculty, when asked…

A seven-step process helps students writing research papers distinguish between what they already know before they do any research and what they find out, and also avoids cut-and-paste, redeye, and plagiarized research papers. Students first narrate the story of the research process (which will be the structural spine of the paper) and then go…

A survey investigated students' attitudes towards the writing activities and experiences in a children's literature course in which students were required to develop, orally share, revise after peer collaboration, and submit for possible publication a folktale or modern fantasy story. Surveys were completed by 37 students enrolled in two classes.…

The University of North Dakota possesses an archive containing the schoolwork, writings, and artworks of 32 children. In a study, all of the fiction and poetry of three of the children were gathered, as were teachers' descriptive records and examples of the children's drawings. It can be concluded from a study of the randomly selected children…

The typical assignment in introductory literature courses asking students to interpret the meaning of a work is inappropriate for most college students because it makes demands they cannot meet, it does not give them transferable skills, and it does not promote a love of literature. Instead, teachers should give assignments that encourage students…

The reading and writing abilities of children work together from the inception of thought to produce literacy. Children can read and write for learning and enjoyment. Each activity enhances the other's development at all levels, thus, writing should not be held back until reading is accomplished at a set level. Children come to school rich in…

The freshman research paper is the most institutionalized writing assignment in the academy, with the possible exception of the dissertation, and the research paper in general (of which the dissertation may be a species) is the most institutionalized genre of student writing, at least in the humanities. First, the research paper is the most…

This case study concerns an attempt to help a 15-year-old with the completion of written assignments and the development of time management and study skills. The document first presents the problem of the girl, Lisa, who could not complete longer written assignments due to an obsessive-compulsive anxiety disorder. The relevant history to the case…

Arguing that the primary means of integrating the library with classroom instruction is the library assignment or research paper, this paper takes a practical look at what constitutes an effective library assignment. It begins by debunking various misconceptions about the library and students' library skills which tend to undermine library…

Through specific practices in methods classes, prospective teachers can be taught the benefits of professional activism. One such strategy is to provide students with complimentary copies of "Language Arts" and ask them to read two or three articles that especially interest them. Another strategy asks students to read, select, and submit one or…

In order to help science students communicate more effectively with people outside their field, a two-semester technical writing course was developed with an emphasis on thinking rather than on blind adherence to the rules and forms of technical writing. The initial test group was composed of freshman science majors with exceptional writing…

This paper discusses homework policy as a product of 50 years of experimental research. Part 1 discusses homework guidelines in grades 3 through 8 by suggesting that homework should be assigned, graded, and individualized. In addition, homework should provide feedback about student achievement that includes parental monitoring. Part 2 recommends…