Describes a series of miniature writing assignments for college students, including reflections on freedom, writing down ideas in a notebook, writing postcards or letters, a gathering page, and doing a first draft in 20 minutes. Provides examples of each assignment. (PA)

Presents an essay by renowned author of young adult literature Robert Cormier, musing on the autobiographical aspects of his own writings as well as writing in the guise of people or about situations to which he is a complete stranger. (SR)

Collects and presents comments made by authors of young adult literature about their writing and about literature. Discusses how writing for young adults and teaching young adults might be related; why write books for adolescent readers; what their goals are as writers of young adult literature; and how they move from a blank page to a finished…

Offers an interview with Jennifer Armstrong, writer of historical novels and nonfiction for children. Discusses her beginnings as a reader and a writer, her creative process, her purposes in writing nonfiction, her concerns about accuracy, and the origins of her second nonfiction book, "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary…

Presents a series of alternatives to the modernist research paper: the argumentative research paper, the personal research paper, the research essay, and the multi-genre/media/disciplinary/cultural research paper. Addresses theoretical implications of alternative research writing strategies. (NH)

Profiles the accomplishments of Brandon Marie Miller, an Ohio writer of children's non-fiction historical literature. Discusses her writing processes and why she writes non-fiction rather than popular historical fiction. Appends annotations of 3 of her works. (NH)

Suggests that despite culturally induced aversions, aromas do have a role to play in writing instruction. Suggest there are many examples in literature of authors' treatment of the olfactory sense. Argues that emphasizing smell as a writing stimulant and encouraging olfactory analyses of literary works can serve as valid ways of introducing…

Examined how students drew upon their asynchronous conference discussions in an online course for their written assignments. Found that computer conferencing can give students the opportunity to rehearse discipline-based debates and then exploit these as rhetorical resources in their written work; students use the voices of their peers in ways…

Presents seven suggestions to help writers and teachers go beyond limericks, parts of speech poems, and haiku. Frames the suggestions for those who are (for whatever reason) trying to write poems, including teachers who are joining their students in the act of learning poetry writing. (RS)

Describes the evolution of the author's children's picture book, "An Amish Christmas." Notes how he refers to "Christmas in Noisy Village" (1964) by Astrid Lindgren, a praised children's Christmas book. Describes how he used Lindgren's economical use of words and book format as a guide. (SG)

The old cliche about not reinventing the wheel is especially apropos concerning the grant writing process. It has been my experience that grant writing is equal parts form and substance. The "trick" is to discover a successful formula that can be used repeatedly to secure different grants, while every grant underwriting organization has its own…

In the many years the author has worked with students in the lower grades, she has heard plenty of myths about their capabilities as writers. She has also learned a few things about how they approach the writing process. Here are some things to keep in mind when working with younger writers: (1) Younger students are capable writers; (2) Younger…

Ethnography can be practiced anywhere by anyone without the slightest knowledge that it is being practiced. The students of three elementary schools are being examined to find the ways in which they have engaged in ethnographic writing.

In attempting to define postmodernism, many search for a "neat central core" (Beck, 1993) thus attempting to universalize all postmodern theories and operate "within the modern obsession with control and reason" (Slattery, 2000: 137). In this article, I refrain from attempting a universal definition, but instead present an exploration of the most…

The idea that formal grammar teaching leads to improvements in school pupils' writing has been a popular one. However, the robust and extensive evidence base shows that this is not the case. Despite this, policy initiatives have continued to suggest that grammar teaching does improve pupils' writing: the "Grammar for Writing" resource is…