The reading and writing of creative writing have the potential to bring sociology to life in a dramatic way. Literature has been used in sociology in one of two ways: to provide sociological evidence and as an object of analysis--a social institution to be studied in its own right. Previous scholarship has proven that the use of literature in…

This phenomenological study sought to identify the attributes of meaningful learning experiences as found in an outdoor education program. Thirteen students in the Wilderness Writing Program at Brigham Young University were the sample of this study. Their participation in outdoor recreational activities and their reflections about their…

This article focuses on an extended, interactive, collaborative project in a junior/senior-level business communication class. The main goal of the project is to address a difficult task central to many college-level writing courses: teaching students to consider and to write for specific audiences other than the teacher. A second goal is to focus…

In this study, we investigated a variety of Reader effects that may influence the validity of ratings assigned to AP® English Literature and Composition essays. Specifically, we investigated whether Readers exhibit changes in their levels of severity and accuracy, and their use of individual scale categories over time. We refer to changes in these…

While the use of a search engine to find secondary sources is now a commonplace practice among undergraduate writers, recent studies show that students' online searches often lead to materials that are wholly or partially unsuitable for academic purposes. Accordingly, this project set out to determine whether using a more specialized search…

Plagiarism is an ugly word. Copying someone else's work and attempting to claim credit for one's self is an act that involves a number of ethical failings--theft, laziness, coveting, and lying among others. Many educators blame the Internet for what they perceive as the rise of plagiarism. Although the Internet certainly enables more efficient…

Business and professional writing courses offer ideal contexts for incorporating service learning into the academic classroom. The focus of such courses on rhetorical analysis and language as social action provide a sound theoretical and practical ground for the application of writing and speaking skills to solve problems and effect change. In…

Writing 125 is a 13-week course that all first-year students at Wellesley College (Massachusetts) are required to take. One instructor teaches a section of it called "Law in Contemporary Society" which centers writing and reading activities around legal issues, namely "Roe v. Wade" and "Webster v. Cruzan." As an…

Data on the writing achievement of 11th-grade students in 1990 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) may help answer the question of who is right: employers and educators who say students are poorly prepared in writing, or parents and students, who are more positive about the results of the writing preparation students receive…

Intended for fourth- to sixth-grade students and their parents, this book provides information needed to complete language arts assignments. The book was compiled with the help of a service called Dial-A-Teacher, a collaborative program of the United Federation of Teachers and the New York City Board of Education, which operates a telephone…

Developed by national reading experts for "reading partners" to use with children, ages birth to grade 6, this Spanish-language booklet presents activities that help very young children to get ready for reading and writing, and guide older children to expand their reading and writing interests and skills. The booklet has three sections,…

These 4 issues of the English Leadership Quarterly comprise volume 16, published during 1994. Articles in number 1 deal with practical advice, and include: "The Law of Privacy and the Writing Teacher" (Ben T. Allen); Beware of Teachers Who Laminate Their Lesson Plans and Other Useful Suggestions about Teaching" (Robert Perrin);…

This paper explores various pedagogical perspectives regarding the use of electronic mail in the classroom as a supplemental and alternative teaching and learning strategy. The paper suggests keeping an electronic journal as a form of writing to clarify and reinforce concepts discussed in class. A brief summary of strategies and assignments are…

Suggesting that poetry can be inserted into any classroom in any curricular area, this paper discusses reading and writing poetry in middle school classrooms. The paper begins with advice on reading poetry in content classrooms, and then presents a 31-item bibliography of poetry sources "for browsing." The paper then presents tips for writing…

Sample excerpts from e-mail discussion used in place of the traditional journal in freshman composition illustrate the fascinating issues raised in this new forum. E-mail allows confrontational statements that would not have been made face-to-face and puts in written form a dialogue for analysis by the entire class. A study concentrated on three…