This paper shows how the heuristics (organized questioning techniques) of contemporary literary criticism in the United States can be used to teach composition. Contemporary criticism emphasizes that literature should be viewed as a process of communication, not as a mere artifact or product of discourse. Teachers can apply this view of literature…

This book contains insights into the writer's craft by 17 leading novelists from Australia and New Zealand. The Novelists were asked ten questions that covered the following topics: what the novel form can uniquely accomplish, the scope of the modern novel in comparison to earlier novel forms, the genesis of their own novels, special problems…

This report outlines the procedures involved in the development of a test of literacy suitable for use in screening large numbers of persons. The authors discuss the problems which were faced from the initiation of the project through the final assembly of the test materials, describing the difficulty of definition, the practical constraints on…

The articles in this book are concerned with teaching composition in freshman English courses. They were first published in "College English" during the years from 1966 to 1975. These selections represent both the theoretical discussions and the technical plans which were put forth in a period when freshman English was being dropped as a required…

This book is designed to teach students and professionals how to write features for newspapers. The author defines the basic elements of feature writing and explains the specialized techniques that have evolved through years of trial and error. Samples of newspaper feature articles are included, and realistic reporting situations are presented to…

The purpose of a five-week pilot project in composition at a Manhattan inner city high school were to test a methodology for teaching the nonnarrative essay and to determine if students could provide informed editorial guidance to other students in regular peer criticism sessions. The assumptions underlying the approach are that the central…

The survey reported in this document was undertaken to determine the experience and opinions concerning written technical communications of prominent and successful engineers in a wide variety of engineering fields. A questionnaire sent to 245 engineers asked 11 specific questions, 8 of which dealt with the respondents' own experiences and the…

Mastery Learning, a learning strategy which denies the inevitability of the normal grading curve, holds promise in skill-building courses. For a composition course using this strategy, course objectives must first be established and stated behaviorally, after which the course may be broken into learning units, each lasting perhaps two weeks. At…

This handbook for teachers and parents discusses approaches for helping elementary and secondary school students understand and write poetry. Chapter 1 discusses various elements of expression such as words, thought, movement, and language. Chapter 2 discusses early poem-making and includes discussions of children's acceptance of language, steps…

For those students who qualify, the Advance Program offers an opportunity to follow a stimulating curriculum designed for the academically talented. This guide for ninth grade English was developed to broaden the student's skill and understanding of the history of the English language, composition, grammar, vocabulary development, and literature.…

A workship program, designed as a noncredit adjunct to composition classes, was developed in order to serve the individual needs of college students. Close communication between regular course instructors and workshop staff was maintained, and the attempt was made to substitute a developmental philosophy of learning for the usual connotation of…

The program described in this paper proposes individual, programed instruction of operations for sentence manipulation and word group frames, addressing the most frequent usage problems faced by college students. Serving as an aid to the student who needs particular reinforcement in one or more areas in composition, the program utilizes a…

One response to the call to go back-to-basics is to teach conventions of writing and usage which seem to echo the objectivity and rigor of scientific knowledge. Yet Michael Polanyi gives reason to believe that the "objectivist" concept of science itself is misleading. Polanyi offers a subtly, but fundamentally, different conception which…

With increasing enrollments in journalism, many journalism instructors contend that problems of spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation are particularly acute. Some of the questions raised at recent gatherings include: Are formal rules of English grammar dying? Is proper punctuation mere pedantry? What can journalism schools do about grammar and…

The 66 items listed in this selected, annotated bibliography either report research which can contribute to knowledge about the teaching of composition, or record fresh and/or noteworthy ideas about composition and the ways of teaching composition. (Material that deals with the preparaton of teachers or the administration of programs in…