Outlines a method of teaching appreciation for short stories by having students write short stories in a group and then individually. (TJ)

Provides details of a mini-course, developed in cooperation with the school's study skills center, that is the essential feature of a program designed to help students in the business communication curriculum improve their writing skills. (RL)

Recommends a series of reading and writing assignments designed to help students develop style and tone in their writing. (TJ)

The decline in verbal and writing skills must be combatted by emphasis on straight talk and plain writing in school, emphasis on the importance of language at home, concentration on career education and educational responsibility, and an insistence by educators on lucid speaking and writing. (MB)

Describes a twenty week one half-credit elective course for seniors on sending and receiving technical communications. (DD)

Elementary school journalists achieve skill in newswriting using activities that simulate reporting for a newspaper. This special feature discusses every kind of newspaper writing and suggests exercises for practice in each kind. It is a manual for language arts classes as well as a handbook for school newspaper editors and reporters. (Editor/RK)

Concludes that a combination of a writing sample and an objective test should be used to place students in freshman composition courses. (DD)

Suggests ways of teaching students how to successfully take essay examinations. (DD)

Critiques the recent report "Writing Mechanics, 1969-1974," which describes a project sponsored by the National Assessment of Educational Progress to evaluate students' writing ability. (KS) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Interpretation).

Suggests that part of the problem with instruction in mechanics has to do with the intuitively unappealing nature of most of the "rules" that have remained unchanged for a century. Discusses problems with current rules on the use of the apostrophe. Presents a one-page reproducible handout that summarizes a technique to teach usage of the…

Contends that if a teacher gives students "good words" (by reading aloud to them throughout the day and giving them plenty of time to read silently), students will give good words back in their writing. Advocates getting children in the letter-writing habit. Shares letters from students over the years. Lists Mark Twain's rules for…

Considers online documentation's place in a two-year college's technical communication program. States that such a course can be successful if instructors emphasize design principles rather than particular software; build on rhetorical skills students already possess while developing authoring skills for the computer; and acknowledge the need for…

Suggests ways for journalists to better their writing skills, for example, being aware of unnecessary words and redundancies and the fact that the simplest word is usually the best word. Tells reporters which words to avoid, such as "many,""some," and "a lot." Gives examples of some mistakes that journalists have…

Identifies the challenges of teaching writing to college students. Suggests a method for creating a forthright exchange between student and teacher, one that can create conditions for improving student writing and allow faculty to teach with greater honesty about their own writing experiences. (KDR)

Provides a framework for using journal writing in the primary grades to develop writing skills. Outlines techniques to help focus teacher observations, deepen insights, inform curricular decision making, and help teachers reflect upon the student's role in journal writing. (RS)