Presents a month-long guide which teachers can use when introducing process writing in their classrooms. Notes the importance of adapting this guide for each individual teacher's classroom schedule and personal taste. (MM)

Discusses three measures of process assessment, describing checklists, conferences, and self-assessment that focus on the writing process and what writers do as they write. (SR)

Uses examples from the writing process and critical thinking to illustrate "reification," a habit of mind which rigidifies and reduces a general and fluid process. Advocates reflection as a means to a broader sense of research and teaching and to more direct engagement with the practice of teaching, writing, and learning. (SR)

Describes the ways in which one group of Head Start children included narrative features in their naturally occurring dramatic play and engaged in behaviors similar to process writing. Extends information about narrative features by describing play behaviors similar to mapping and revision. Presents findings that are part of a larger…

The effectiveness of writing instruction and process writing are discussed. The process writing approach has a significant impact on the U.S. education and hence, the principles of process writing provide guidance to teachers on potentially effective instructional practices.

Proficiency with written expression is critical for students' academic success. Unfortunately, writing presents a challenge for both students and teachers. Recent data suggest that many students in U.S. schools fail to meet even the most basic writing standards. And even when students receive effective (i.e., evidence-based) writing instruction,…

The well-planned writing workshop is an effective tool for expanding the mathematical discourse of students and helping them become more skillful writers in the discipline. This article reviews a step-by-step process for conducting a workshop and details different reader response strategies. It also offers suggestions for various types of…

To examine metacomprehension during comprehension, undergraduates (n = 133) were asked to provide descriptions of how they determined the meaning of four rare words presented in short passages. Content analysis of these written descriptions revealed task-specific metacomprehension reflecting lexical, textbase, and situation model processes.…

The author, a high school teacher and forensics coach, describes ways to teach writing--including on-demand essays--that draw on successful practices she developed in coaching. Students learn the importance of using personal conviction and qualified thesis statements to build arguments, as well as learning "The Debater Four-Step," an effective…

The general enthusiasm that governs composition studies is the result of more than 20 years of collective efforts to define central issues in theory and research, and to help refocus national attention on composition literacy. The optimistic vision of future challenge and direction in discourse studies is largely premised on Thomas Kuhn's…

Considers how with no training in how to teach vocabulary skills, many teachers transfer to their classroom the same techniques that they see test makers using. Offers a chart to encourage thinking about the ways that standardized testing techniques differ from good teaching and learning practices. Argues that educators should provide students…

Notes that college freshmen are generally inexperienced writers writing on topics about which they are not knowledgeable. Explores college freshmen's concomitant process of acquiring knowledge. Argues that composition should be conceptualized as an interweaving of writing and knowledge acquisition. (RS)

Argues that basic writing teachers should think of their students as seekers who are coming from different places and going different directions, each carrying different burdens and needing different tools. Presents a series of writing assignments using the process approach to writing. (RS)

Discusses some problems of the process approach to writing instruction. Investigates the impact of productivity on student performance and attitudes; whether forcing productivity is workable in the classroom; and whether productivity shows potential for helping students develop as writers. Notes that practice is an important part of the writing…

Discusses seven recent high-quality professional publications that focus on the process approach to the teaching of writing and that discuss it from differing angles. (SR)