Notes that words such as "can" and "may" are routinely interchanged in casual conversation and professional writing and broadcasting. Proposes that because journalism students are likely to be supervised by people who care about standards, they should make the distinctions between such words. Explains why 10 pairs of words need…

Notes that using words effectively and creatively make for interesting reading. Explains 19 oxymorons scholastic journalists might use. Proposes that some students may use oxymorons to try to make sense out of the strange world of words that are used for communication. (PM)

Proposes that because student journalists and professional mass communicators put their words on public display, they cannot afford to take risks with being misunderstood. Argues for making word distinctions that are as precise as possible. Explains 10 commonly interchanged word pairs. (PM)

Reviews work in the field of writing instruction, focusing on self-regulated strategy development (SRSD), which emphasizes the development of composition and self-regulation strategies in tandem. The six stages of SRSD are: develop and activate background knowledge, discuss the strategy, model the strategy, memorize the strategy, support the…

Responses from 172 of 476 business training directors revealed that grammar, spelling, and punctuation were rated important for secretaries and business letter and report writing for managers; content areas for managers differed by company size and type of business; and seminars and workshops were most commonly used delivery methods. (SK)

Introduces the notion of "choice-based" writing, an approach which examines the range of writing options available in any given managerial context. Illustrates the benefit of a choice-based approach that recognizes contextual complexities and explores writing choices that managers find functional. (MS)

Asserts that imitation is an effective way to teach form and sense of language while encouraging creativity. Suggests several imitation assignments, including exact sentence imitation, controlled composition, and model compositions. (MM)

Describes the subtle changes a writing teacher makes throughout the year as she shifts to a writer's workshop approach in which students choose their own topics, their own genre, determine their own pace, and expand or contract the time allotted to each task as required. (RS)

Describes a project that uses essays to supplement or supplant the traditional methods of teaching science at the high school level. Presents two examples of essays used, the rationale for using them, and suggestions for implementing this project in the high school science classroom. (JRH)

Finds that subjects were less able to detect errors in self-generated essays than in unfamiliar other-generated essays but were better able to detect errors in familiar other-generated essays than in unfamiliar ones. Finds also that the disadvantage for proofreading self-generated text is a by-product of extreme familiarity. (RS)

Finds that fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students were successful in using the electronic speller for correcting and verifying as correct over 85 percent of the words they had targeted as possibly misspelled. (SR)

Follows brief preparatory comments with 12 sections (relevant to technical communication) from the "Analects" of Confucius--2 dealing with getting an education and applying for a job, 6 addressing one's approach to assignments, and 4 suggesting a professional code of ethics. (SR)

Discusses the overuse of capital letters in technical writing. (SR)

Semantic mapping is offered as a prewriting strategy to help students (of all ages) with hearing impairments organize and structure their writing. Semantic mapping can offer these students a visual access to the writing process. (DB)

Based on interviews with students, this paper describes some connections that three nonnative-English-speaking middle school children related when asked to comment on how their reading influenced their writing. Their comments illustrated an awareness of what one can and cannot do as a writer. (Contains 12 references.) (LB)