Despite resistance from cultural separatists and essentialists, whites are increasingly teaching and studying ethnic literatures. A white African Americanist finds herself teaching African American literature to African Americans. In a first-year writing course she taught at Florida State University, she was the only white participant in a process…

In 1991, a student learning outcomes assessment was conducted at Wenatchee Valley College, Washington. All English 101 students in the winter and spring quarters of 1990 wrote a 2-hour final exam. Winter quarter students wrote on the same topic while spring quarter students wrote on one of three randomly assigned topics. Five English 101…

This study compared reading and writing demands at a city high school and an urban university across the following disciplines: biology, English, history, and political science. Analysis revealed five generalizations concerning high school disciplines: (1) in-class activities and student requirements for courses are tied to the course text which…

Traditional approaches to teaching writing have been challenged, and new methods have emerged that reflect the new understanding of this process. This paper compares and contrasts product-based and process-based approaches to teaching writing. Product approaches reflect traditional, teacher-centered approaches to teaching in general, emphasizing…

This paper examines some prominent criticisms of higher education and contends that systems theory is a means of understanding the nature of the problems by taking into account the complexity of interconnections among several factors. Problems discussed include: (1) inflated grades awarded to today's university students do not reflect their true…

A study analyzed the ability of 31 advanced students of English as a Second Language (ESL) to monitor their own use of article and verb errors in their compositions. Subjects were 31 foreign graduate students enrolled in an advanced composition course at Iowa State University. The two categories of grammatical errors were monitored in three…

Books that remind children and adolescents that writing is fun and that they can be writers not only confirm the reading/writing connection, but also demonstrate that reading can be a springboard to writing. Writing and receiving letters is very exciting to beginning readers, and there are many picture books that provide examples of how to write a…

Stressing that learning to write is learning to think, a series of workshops showed teachers in the content area how to use writing in their classrooms. Following a brief introduction to the program, workshop participants developed eight guidelines for creating effective writing assignments: (1) make all assignments worthwhile, (2) make them…

Research into process-oriented writing instruction for native speakers of English can improve instruction in writing for students of English as a second language (ESL). Process-oriented instruction focuses on the processes of writing rather than on the finished product. A comparison of writing samples of native speakers from remedial courses and…

Activities and background information on Greek and Roman mythology are presented. The unit is designed for eighth graders, but many of the activities can be modified for other grade levels. The unit includes: (1) a content outline; (2) a list of instructional materials including suggested textbooks, teacher-prepared materials, and resource…

To describe and evaluate current practices in college composition programs, a study was conducted of the 19 California State University campuses. English department chairs completed a short survey on courses, staffing, and special projects, and structured interviews were conducted with these chairs and various other program coordinators from a…

Intended for teachers at all levels involved in composition instruction, this revised edition reflects the dynamic growth occurring in the discipline of writing, and consolidates advances made in teaching methodology. The 38 articles, written by such researchers and theorists in the field as James Moffett, Maxine Hairston, Janet Emig, Donald…

Teachers can develop reflection and evaluation options by keeping a classroom journal. A classroom journal is a record of the teacher's experience within the classroom itself, as well as experience outside the classroom which bears on classroom life. As an observor of one's own actions and reactions to classroom incidents, the teacher opens the…

A study examined the effects of intervention strategies on the revisions minority students made in narrative essays in a process-oriented classroom. Thirteen African-American and Latino students enrolled in a private boarding school in New England participated in the research. The effect of teacher interventions was explored through two…

The English Composition through Art History (ECTAH) Project was established in 1984-85 at Coral Gables Senior High School in Dade County, Florida. The main goal of the project was to teach the students how to relate acquired art history knowledge to the literary devices employed by an author. For example, pupils studied non-representational art,…