An argument for using various letter writing assignments to help students develop their writing voices. (RL)

Shows how having students write journals about their learning experiences was an effective teaching technique in the primary grades. (RL)

Presents a classification of discourse, designed for the beginning writer, for which the basic taxon is the tactic--"any conscious decision of the writer to add to, subtract from, or alter in any way what he or she is writing." (JM)

Examines trends in crude and functional literacy rates and the purposes of literacy throughout American history. Discusses the implications of this history on the current and future state of literacy. (HTH)

Proposes a model for teaching the writing process in technical writing classes, with examples of the model's application to writing titles, introductory components, resumes, and instructions. (RL)

Advice to junior high school writing teachers on the following topics: egocentrism in writers; the pitfalls of "creative" writing and "practical" English; the right stance toward reports and research papers; conventions, proofreading, and postwriting behavior; and the frequency of writing/writing assignments. (RL)

Proposes that an awareness of writing as a process is the necessary basis for building effective writing programs, provides examples of activities that promote more creative writing samples, and expresses the need for emphasis on different purposes and audiences for writing assignments to broaden young writers' styles. (HTH)

To keep students aware of the advantages of shorthand and in the shorthand program, the author presents some techniques for teaching the first week of beginning shorthand, among them letting the students learn basic strokes without a textbook in order to write simple shorthand during the first few days. (MF)

Argues that generative rhetoric can lead technical writing students to produce more effective and better developed business reports. (TJ)

Reports on a study of the use of sentence combining in developmental writing classes. (MKM)

Notes developments in sociolinguistic theory with implications for the teaching of writing. (RL)

This concluding article in a series concerning the use of the comma in Spanish gives specific examples of its use from Spanish literature. Concluding remarks outline the major purposes of the comma. (NCR)

Twenty-five community colleges and universities in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico responded to a questionnaire evaluating general overall writing quality of beginning journalism students. Responses support the conclusions that journalism departments may need to lower standards, require English proficiency examinations, and institute…

The concept of sentence weights (the assigning of numerical scores based on hierarchical modification) seems to be a more sophisticated measure for looking at syntactic complexity than the T-Unit. (DD)

Describes four stages in a reading and writing transaction involving a reader's response to literature. The four stages described are involvement, perception, interpretation, and evaluation; student writing is required at each of these stages. (MKM)