"Practical rhetoric" is a narrowing of classical rhetoric because it no longer shapes public opinion but is increasingly shaped by it, specifically by special interest groups formed around and geared to what a selected audience wants to hear. In the teaching of composition, this pluralism of rhetoric leads to fragmentation and specialization, and…

The information contained in this report describes the 1982 Manitoba (Canada) Writing Assessment Program and the results of student performance on the grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 writing tests. Various sections of the report provide the following information: (1) steps in the assessment program and procedures for comparison with the 1979 assessment;…

One approach to the development of writing skills at the upper high school level involves modeling, objectivity, revision, and editing. Modeling requires the teacher to reproduce one major writing assignment so that students can observe directly how the teacher attacks the assignment, completing it within the same time frame as they themselves…

Group activities in the classroom can be a useful way to explore various standard rhetorical patterns. For descriptive writing, students can select and write about unsigned collages made by classmates. The writer can try to find a unifying theme that characterizes the artist's personality. A narrative component can be added to descriptive writing…

A study investigated the effectiveness of peer critiquing and the use of writing models in the preparation of scientific reports. Primary trait scoring was used to evaluate laboratory reports on exercise physiology written by four different groups of sophomore biology majors: (1) a reference (control) group that prepared for writing reports with…

The writing lab at a Florida two-year technical institute is designed to help students fulfill the writing requirements for their technical degree programs. In the lab, developmental students take composition courses that may be substituted for traditionally required composition courses in their programs. Some students take additional writing…

Reported in this monograph are the results from a survey of composition teachers in the City University of New York (CUNY). The questionnaire used for the survey sought (1) to obtain quantitative data about teachers' instructional practices and about their perceptions of the impact of the Writing Skills Assessment Test (WSAT) of minimum writing…

This guide to the primary education program was developed for use in kindergartens in Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville, Florida. An overview of the program is followed by a section on preplanning, which deals with curriculum planning, classroom arrangement, centers and materials, classroom management, themes for the year, lesson plans for…

Each written by a classroom teacher and based on the experience of that teacher working with his or her students, the articles in this collection are an extension of the Bay Area Writing Project assumptions. Many contain samples of writing done by students in response to the writing tasks described. After a preamble that discusses what is already…

This book records activities of a New York City Writing Project seminar and the writing of some of the 35 students in it. The account reflects how the students wrestled with different points of view, learning how to respond in writing groups and discovering themselves as writers in their process journals. Among the appendixes is a guide for…

Intended for writing teachers, from middle-elementary level through college, this booklet describes a teaching method that lets students write their own way into ideas, merging personal experience with intellectual thought in expository writing. The booklet first describes in greater detail the concept of writing to think as focused free…

Intended to aid any teacher at any level to assist students who are having major difficulties with writing experiences, this handbook presents basic writing skills that students should be able to perform upon graduation from high school. The handbook begins with a definition of writing and a word about the North Carolina competency testing…

Researchers and teachers are beginning to realize that reading and writing are closely linked. Language experience is the key to success in reading and writing. Teachers must enrich students' language experiences by reading to them, talking with them, fostering an environment that recognizes their worth as language users, and modeling expected…

Developed in response to the heterogeneous student population of a two-year, open door college, a self-paced freshman English course at Brazosport College (Texas) still operates within the traditional contact hour and three semester hours credit requirements, but serves students in unique, individual ways. Students may enroll only if placed by…

To explore the role of one specific revision strategy--reading and rereading pieces of text--in the composing process, case studies were made of two college freshman writers: Jim, who was highly apprehensive about the process of composing, and David, who was not at all apprehensive about writing. Specifically, videotapes of the students' composing…