As one of four options under English 105 at Western Michigan University, the course "Writing and Science" is intended to help students become better communicators as they enter college. The first assignments are in technical writing--descriptions of a mechanism, a process or a mechanism in operation, and a behavior. Emphasis in these exercises is…

For use by junior and senior high school English teachers and students in search of appropriate subjects for written compositions, this publication contains 1,237 topics compiled from a questionnaire sent to about 250 teachers. The topics are divided into categories: personal reminiscences, personal reactions, the familiar essay, description,…

Reporting is a craft, an art, and a principal means of building and maintaining the kind of society a democratic people wants. This book describes--with examples--the nature, uses, and potential of the craft of reporting and emphasizes newspaper practice as dominant among systems of news dissemination. This edition differs from the second edition…

Examines the way in which Darwin employed conventional language and conventional religious categories of popular thought to explain and lend credibility to the ideas he advanced in "The Orgin of Species." (MH)

This article presents suggestions for improvement in constructing better essay questions and for teaching students how to organize and write essay answers. (Author/ND)

Shows how English composition teachers with little or no science background can actually use that lack of background as an asset in teaching science writing. (DD)

The elementary school curriculum should emphasize creative writing, but "creative writing" should include exposition and argumentation. (DD)

Describes a program in testing and instruction in written composition, developed at Chicago State University. (AA)

Discusses a set of options for concluding an essay founded upon Aristotle's four goals of a conclusion: (1) to dispose the hearer favorably towards oneself and unfavorably towards the adversary; (2) to amplify and depreciate; (3) to excite the emotions of the hearer; (4) to recapitulate. Cites various composition theorists to elaborate these…

Argues that the kinds of problems Harvard "basic writers" have are different in degree, but not in kind, from problems of less accomplished student writers elsewhere, from problems all student writers have from time to time, and from the problems experienced adult writers confront in unfamiliar or difficult writing situations. (RS)

Recommends the use of a fictitious term paper with stringent format requirements, but without content, to enable students to concentrate on format. Emphasizes that the assignment gives students an opportunity to experience school as play. (MS)

Argues that two current receptions of Plato's rhetorical theory that either (1) leave him out, or (2) claim he rejected rhetoric, have serious consequences for contemporary rhetoric and composition studies. Discusses critics who support a third position and claims this position reconnects rhetoric with thinking rather than mere formulizing. (NH)

Offers a new theory of explanatory discourse intended to guide analysis of and stimulate improvement in explanations designed for the mass audience. Identifies research literature relevant to improving the quality of written explanations, organizes findings on effectiveness that resolve controversies in the literature, and suggests principles for…

Claims that the long list of traditionally accepted news values can be replaced with a single concept, vividness, and that vivid information may not be the best information. Blames much of the alleged deficiencies associated with journalistic practice such as sensationalism and preoccupation with conflict on the journalistic practice of writing to…

Writing is a key component in developing mathematics thinking and understanding. Four strategies to encourage student writing to describe thinking and reasoning are offered. Teachers can use this writing to verify student understanding of mathematical concepts. (MT)