Examines how students interact during peer response groups, a key instructional activity designed specifically to encourage talk about writing. Finds that the frequency of response groups relative to other kinds of groups varied across classrooms, as did the relative amount of response that occurred in the group context. (MG)

Discusses writing instruction with student publications, teaching higher order thinking skills, developing a production schedule, process writing elements, and revision. (MG)

Presents an interview with James Britton, author of the book "Language and Learning." Discusses poetry and writing, revisions to his book, the relationship between teachers' classroom experiences and the writing of stories, and the practical application of research and theory. (PRA)

Describes the positive effect a teacher had on his son's writing by offering encouragement and interest rather than assignments and criticisms. (PRA)

Discusses the challenge presented by works of fiction, particularly for adolescents, that confront the reader with the deaths of central characters. Describes how one author justifies the presence of death in adolescent fiction. (HB)

Outlines and comments on the views of Clifford Geertz with regard to ethnography and social construction. Provides a transcript of an interview with Geertz, in which Geertz comments on his technical anthropological writings. Discusses his recent book "Works and Lives," his writing process, persuasive writing, and literary criticism,…

Describes an informal experiment designed to explore the relationship between drawing and writing, and the meaning held in the drawings. Finds that drawing should not be relegated only to small children, but should be used to help older students explore their thoughts and feelings as well. (PRA)

Describes the author's personal difficulties in trying to write this essay. Discusses David Bartholomae's review of the author's book, "The Making of Knowledge in Composition," and the author's correspondence with Bartholomae regarding professional ethos and the definition of common sense. (PRA)

Discusses the origination of the character, the voice, and the story behind the 1991 Newbery-winning "Maniac Magee" as told by the author, Jerry Spinelli. (MG)

Discussion of current applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to writing focuses on how to represent knowledge of the writing process in a way that links procedural knowledge to other types of knowledge. A model is proposed that integrates the subtasks of writing into the process of writing itself. (15 references) (LRW)

Discusses networking as a collaboration tool in the teaching of technical writing. Argues that some degree of collaboration is innate to all writing, that word processing already facilitates that collaboration, and that networking is the next enhancement to the collaborative process. (RS)

Argues that managers write within a unique context, and, thus, much of what is known about writing in general or professional writing may not apply. Reviews the literature on managerial writing, finding a paucity of research and a heavy emphasis on survey methodology. Offers six general research questions for future research. (SR)

Reveals Donald Murray's philosophy regarding the composing processes including the relationship between drawing and writing, and his response to the changes taking place in the field of composition and composition research. (NH)

Notes that the new media will incorporate the old. Discusses what changes writers can expect from multimedia and how writers might thrive in a multimedia world. (SR)

Considers what makes up the sensibilities and personal traits of a writer. Describes how one writer learned to express herself through a particular writing workshop. Outlines the reasons writers write and lists some tricks of the trade. (HB)