Writing programs and their directors have taken on a new importance because writing has become more necessary to society. However, the status of the writing program in the modern university is usually low and its financial support tenuous. (MLW)

States that writing must be taught in a way that interests and involves students and prepares them for life outside the writing classroom. Gives examples of appropriate assignments, including writing a letter of complaint and writing job application letters and resumes. (DF)

Word processors can assist teachers and students by focusing on writing as a process, rather than a product. Word processing breaks writing up into manageable chunks that permit writing skills to develop in an integraged manner. (10 references) (CJH)

The study examined the paragraph writing performance of 89 undergraduate students with low or high convergent or divergent aptitude in response to three methods of instruction: deduction (topic sentence to details), inductive (details to topic sentence), or a combination. A balanced presentation of both methods produced greater overall…

Reading and writing assessment which focuses on fragmented, isolated skills provides little information about how children actually read and write. An holistic alternative, the systematic observation of children's reading and writing behavior as they occur in natural settings, is discussed. (Author/CB)

Describes an interdisciplinary writing course organized around the theme of language as used by individual disciplines. Reports a significant improvement in students' writing skills, exposure to a breadth of issues to which these skills might be applied in students' respective majors, and an enthusiastic response to the approach. (DMM)

In this activity intended to develop thinking and writing skills secondary students are given a worksheet dealing with either nuclear energy or the Civil War. On the worksheet the order of items is scrambled. Students must organize the information, decide what is important, and write an essay on the topic. (RM)

Recommends teaching students the exploratory essay as a means of contributing to the larger effort of revitalizing the humanities by restoring the spirit of inquiry to a place of currency and honor and by educating people to communicate freely with one another. (EL)

Criticizes English departments for ignoring the need for research and adequate instructional programs in the areas of competency referred to by the term "literacy": reading, writing, comprehending, and communicating. Suggests ways of bridging the gap between literature and composition. (EL)

Discusses the discrepancy between theory and practice in writing instruction. Offers suggestions for improving such instruction. (EL)

Based on information from the report, "Becoming a Nation of Readers," this article presents eight recommendations for parents to follow to provide encouragement to their children in reading. (MD)

The authors suggest a broad range of writing activities for students in subject area classes, which will foster content learning as well as writing proficiency; a network of teachers skilled in developing curriculum materials based on writing; and expectations for writing in content area classes, such as mathematics, science, and social studies.…

Describes experiences in planning and conducting a workshop that combined the teaching of writing, research, and basic photography skills. (EL)

Examines the responses of 10 veteran teachers to an essay written by an ESL student and concludes that most teachers continue to mark only surface errors, even in ESL essays. (DF)

Views the writing act as an act of exploration rather than the reporting of what was discovered and emphasizes six elements that achieve the surprise in writing, including expectation, ease, and acceptance. (DF)