After a brief discussion of the deficiencies of both prescriptive and descriptive rhetoric, the author presents a generative rhetoric as a workable technique for teaching composition. An outline is given of a generative "macro-rhetoric" which deals with the large task of how to organize and develop a statement or idea. Types of sentences, four…

A survey of attitudes of students in the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) toward writing was analyzed in terms of total population and in terms of ability subgroups established by a diagnostic examination of writing ability. Results were compared with results from a similar survey of the 1974-1975 CGSC class, which was analyzed…

Though technical writing as a profession began only recently (shortly after World War II), its tradition goes back to ancient times. This paper describes how technical writing teachers at New Mexico State University use the works of twenty scientific writers included in the "Great Books of the Western World" series to demonstrate to their students…

The survey reported in this document was undertaken to determine the experience and opinions concerning written technical communications of prominent and successful engineers in a wide variety of engineering fields. A questionnaire sent to 245 engineers asked 11 specific questions, 8 of which dealt with the respondents' own experiences and the…

One response to the call to go back-to-basics is to teach conventions of writing and usage which seem to echo the objectivity and rigor of scientific knowledge. Yet Michael Polanyi gives reason to believe that the "objectivist" concept of science itself is misleading. Polanyi offers a subtly, but fundamentally, different conception which…

This booklet contains suggestions and techniques aimed at those individuals in education associations who are in charge of news media relations for their organizations. The following aspects of reporting news to the media are discussed: getting organized and acquainted, thinking like a newsperson, writing clearly and simply, typing the news…

This module concentrates on descriptive writing as a means of training students to be more precise in their diction and to provide adequate detail. The module attempts to offer students in English classes learning experiences similar to the ones they might experience in shop classes. The module is set up for individualized instruction and includes…

The purpose of this investigation was to measure the effect of simulation-gaming on the expository prose competence of community college remedial English composition students. Thirteen teacher volunteers were used. The design was fully crossed so that each teacher taught an equal number of the 25 experimental and 25 control course sections. The…

According to the author, an experienced editor, teacher, and writer of children's literature, the purpose of this book is threefold: to present a broader view of children's literature, to show the wide range of children's literature, and to reveal the opportunities available for writing children's literature. The chapters discuss: (1) attitudes…

Developed for a high school quinmester unit on nonfiction, this guide provides the teacher with teaching strategies for an introduction to nonfiction as a form of writing dealing with truth, facts, and ideas. Various classifications of nonfiction are investigated, including the biography, the essay, and true tales of great adventure, with required…

This edition of the "Bulletin of the Kansas Association of Teachers of English" consists primarily of articles on composition, with special attention to the composing process. John F. Butler, in "On Teaching Composition," discusses strategies for meeting two goals in college composition: teaching the more artful use of language and teaching the…

The purpose of this study was to provide increased understanding of the process and testing of the comprehension of certain kinds of expository and argumentative prose. A criterion-related reading test was constructed using as a criterion the Finder-Cochrane Task Analysis for Comprehending Exposition and Argument. A panel of three experts ruled on…

This study was designed to investigate the effects of discovery and expository methods of presentation on the immediate acquisition and retention of geometry concepts by seventh graders. Four geometry concepts, "quadrilateral,""rhombus,""trapezoid," and "parallelogram," were presented in written lessons which used either an expository or a…

Guidelines for authors in writing for vocational education journals are presented and explained. The article stresses the importance of writing for the particular audience and of following the distinctive journal style, including when and how to use popular or technical style, with examples. (MF)

Presents a new model of the writing process, adding technic to the traditional elements of writer, subject, and audience. Offers 20 questions, based on the dynamics of the new model, to help students write and teachers respond. (RL)