Proposing the theory that adult basic writers can learn to write better if they are taught to understand the mental processes that writing requires, this paper presents a brief teaching guide for systematic instruction in these processes. The paper first examines how ideas develop and then outlines the mental processes in rhetoric. Discussions of…

Technical communication teachers need to recognize the increasing diversity of their classroom populations and become more flexible in planning curricula without "watering down" students' expectations to leave the courses more skilled than they were upon entering. Teachers should discuss with students some of their writing barriers and the…

This guide presents lesson plans for remedial writing classes for students who have failed the New York Regents Competency or Preliminary Competency Test in Writing. The guide consists of four units that cover: (1) organizing and reporting skills; (2) more advanced report writing skills; (3) persuasion; and (4) the persuasive essay based upon…

The nature of reading has changed over the course of time. As more people learned to read and write, the rules became firmer, that is, readers became bound to the forms of the printed text so that rules of the written language became a necessity. Fifty years ago, adults in Denmark who had difficulty in reading could manage tolerably well, though…

This anthology contains 21 articles on teaching methods and assignments in technical writing. The anthology is divided into three major sections. The first section, "Courses," presents plans for alternative approaches to the teaching of technical writing. The second section, "Components," offers a variety of activities for major segments within a…

The Basic Skills Assessment (BSA) is a national secondary level testing program which provides secure tests in reading, writing, and mathematics. It is designed to identify students who need additional instruction in the basic skills so they may be helped to reach the school district's secondary school graduation requirements. One of the BSA's…

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between apprehension and the quality of writing when that writing was aimed at a distant and at a familiar audience. Fifty-eight freshman English students from a two-year college were given a questionnaire to assess their level of writing apprehension. They were then asked to write two in-class…

Realizing the importance of writing skills in communicating with other professionals and in educating the public, scientists and scientific institutions have renewed their interest in the writing education of science students. Informal surveys show that technological and engineering schools are reinstituting writing requirements and staffing the…

The case approach to composition is a successful alternative to the traditional pattern of instruction in which little attention is paid to the writing assignments given to students. An analysis of writing assignments from reputable textbooks reveals that many of them require instruction in some subject matter at the expense of instruction in…

A workshop for college engineering and business faculty in how to teach writing in their classrooms is one route to improving student writing skills. Any faculty development program needs strong administrative support. To overcome the problems both in condensing a knowledge of writing into a short session and in the objections of faculty to the…

The 12 articles in this publication provide indepth treatment of important aspects of in-house training programs for technical writing and editing. The articles deal with the following topics: the value of an in-house writing course, teaching in industry, developing an in-house writing course for engineers and scientists, a new approach to…

The steps followed in setting up a college writing center are outlined in this paper, and comments from two graduate students who worked as full time tutors in the center are presented. The first section of the paper describes the way faculty members determined the type of center needed at their university, how they first envisioned the center,…

The decline in writing ability among students entering college can be attributed to such factors as the absence of verbal precision in television, advertising, and political language, the lack of writing practice in high school English classes, overloaded and unprepared English teachers, and the difficulties involved in evaluating student writing.…

Algebraic equations and geometric forms are useful in teaching and learning composition. Algebraic equations can illustrate the modular nature of paragraph structures and can be refined by students to describe types of paragraphs. Discussion of the "slippery" nature of words and their power of transformation can be a lecture topic as the class…

Defining a writing center as a collection of activities and materials in a classroom for the purpose of stimulating, guiding, and encouraging children to write, this booklet offers suggestions for establishing and operating such a center. Various sections offer a rationale for the center, present activities to stimulate both creative and…