Presents an interview with Colson Whitehead. Discusses his approach to writing a novel. Considers several of his novels and his experiences writing them. (SG)

Argues that metaphor offers students and teachers a significant (but little used) means of communication. Contends that by examining and extending student metaphors for composing, teachers gain valuable information about how students struggle to create a text and how they struggle with teachers over issues of power and authority. (RS)

Assesses the compatibility of computer conferencing with collaborative learning. Finds that computer conferencing is another form of computer technology well-suited for the teaching of writing as a socially constituted process. Finds that computer conferencing integrates school life with life outside the school. (RS)

Examines the concept of intellectual development, focusing on how differences in writing reflect different developmental models, such as those developed by Piaget and Vygotsky. Discusses the consequences of developmental models on theories of composition and the function of narrative. (MM)

Describes a series of studies of both student and professional writers. Concludes that writers' emotions change discernibly when they compose. Finds intensified positive emotions (such as excitement and happiness), weakened negative-passive emotions (shame and boredom), and less variable negative-active emotions (including fear and anger). (SG)

Regardless of the content area, the foundation of learning is reading and writing. By emphasizing process, not product, and encouraging students to express themselves in reading and writing, teachers can make learning more meaningful and successful. Form should emerge from content, from the student's need to express an idea. Includes 10…

Discusses some problems of the process approach to writing instruction. Investigates the impact of productivity on student performance and attitudes; whether forcing productivity is workable in the classroom; and whether productivity shows potential for helping students develop as writers. Notes that practice is an important part of the writing…

Examines two contrasting perspectives of invention: rhetoric as "art," and rhetoric as "knack," derived from talent and experience. Argues that inventive strategies should be viewed within an axiological perspective, and notes that instructors can teach students to combine different types of inventive strategies, avoiding a…

Examines the processes an engineer goes through as he/she writes a routine and a non-routine document--processes that are strongly affected by the degree to which his/her company has previously accepted the claims he/she makes as given or as knowledge. Discusses the collaborative nature of work in an organization. (MS)

Presents a writing exercise which involves students in their own and their peers' writing. Claims validity in that it personifies one of the most persistent blocks to expression--the inner critic which causes the writer to reject too soon and discriminate too severely. (RAE)

Argues that an integrated vision of the composition process is needed to explain how context cues cognition, which in turn mediates and interprets the particular world that context provides. Explores some ways that observational research might be used to create a well-supported, theoretical understanding of the composition process. (RS)

Presents a series of exercises aimed at helping students generate lines and ideas for their poetry. (MM)

Discusses ways to integrate computers effectively into the freshman English course. Addresses some objections to using computers in the composition classroom. (MM)

Reviews the history of verbal data in a variety of fields, places protocol analysis in its historical context, and examines more recent claims and criticisms regarding protocol analysis. Concludes that protocol analysis, when conducted according to certain principles, can be an important tool for researching the composing process. (MG)

Describes several strategies to help journalism students avoid "writer's block," including front-end editing, brainstorming, clustering, notetaking, freewriting, and journal writing. (MM)