Expresses concern over students' weakness for hyperbole. Notes that in order to engage students in the process of exploring what they do not know, teachers need to convince them that clarity and understatement requires as much imagination as hyperbole and exaggeration. Presents a teaching exercise that encourages students to write about what they…

Proposes a unified theory of discourse form to explain (1) why writing textbooks consistently recognize just two polar types of abstract; (2) why students often produce adequate descriptive abstracts but not adequate summary abstracts; and (3) how a short paraphrase differs formally and conceptually from a summary abstract. (KEH)

Presents Martin Greenspan's four-stage (preparatory, incubation, illumination, and verification) model of the creation of new thought. Argues that this model provides a way of seeing, identifying, and understanding features of writing to learn and learning to write that other composition theories have not permitted. (RS)

Examines the relationship between handwriting speed and the syntactic complexity of the finished piece of writing. Reports that findings support previous research that describes differences in syntax of basic and traditional writers. Concludes that writing teachers should encourage college students to write rapidly as they draft their pieces. (MM)

Argues that the view of writing as a social activity fails to account for individual cognition. Suggests that subjectivity results from a dialectical interplay between consciousness and ideological forces. Calls for further investigation of how context guides cognition and what role cognition plays in the social negotiation of knowledge. (SG)

Describes the response of a writing group to the author's conventional and scholarly writing. Discusses how the tenured author purposively changed her writing style from traditional academic discourse to experimental critical writing. Concludes that, when writers want to be read, they have to take more chances than standard scholarly style allows.…

Recounts the author's involvement in a writing center, noting a dichotomy between composition theory and pedagogical practice. Asserts that writing center directors and teachers need to place their work in a theoretical context, building on theories of collaborative learning and theories of writing as a social process. (MM)

Follows the progress of three young boys as they learn to collaborate in school. Shows the importance of allowing students to talk through their writing and reading tasks and to recognize the social and listening skills that develop along with their writing. (MG)

Considers the complex processes involved in readers' and writers' construction of textual meaning: how people construct meaning from texts through reading and for texts through writing. Outlines the significant parameters and major issues in research on composing from sources. Proposes a way to think about tasks that invite writers to transform…

Argues that composition theory and classroom practice demonstrate that validating oral discourse during the composing process is a necessary, effective, and theoretically justifiable means of transforming experienced speakers into experienced writers. (RS)

Presents an overview of some important issues of the last few years in second-language (L2) writing, including the processes of writing, the views of teachers of second-language writing, the role of the classroom, and the special demands placed on (L2) writers. (61 references) (GLR)

Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, explores the relationship between Black American and African literature, the use of African and/or European languages to write African literature, social and political influences on literature, and the relationship between literacy and reading. Urges aspiring writers to find their own authentic voice. (DMM)

Explores the journal writing of Henry David Thoreau. Asserts that his journals are an excellent example of writing to learn. Notes that students can benefit from emulating Thoreau's approach to journal writing. (MM)

Describes the use of think-aloud protocols to reflect writing processes and to examine the dynamics of group writing conferences in a writing group consisting of five undergraduate, preservice elementary teachers and their professor. (SR)

Probes Lloyd Alexander's thoughts about his own writing habits and processes; his reflections on his various books and characters; the state of children's publishing today; and fan mail he receives. (RAE)