Believing that a course in the novel ought to include the making of prose as well as its analysis, a college English instructor altered his teaching strategy by treating both the novel author and his students as writers. Prior to studying a particular novel, the instructor gave students an assignment that would involve a particular literary…

Guided writing after model paragraphs is an effective technique to initiate beginning and intermediate students of English as a second language into English composition. The technique of oral composition requires that the students prepare statements according to a model for oral delivery. In class composition, one student goes to the board and…

The theoretical roots of sentence combining as a pedagogical strategy are discussed in this paper, along with recent studies of the development of written syntactic maturity. The paper examines several major sentence combining studies in detail and briefly summarizes additional relevant literature. The instructional implications of sentence…

The needs hierarchy developed by Abraham Maslow lends itself to the composition classroom. The hierarchy depicts five distinct need levels through which an individual travels: basic, safety/security, belonging/peer acceptance, ego/esteem, and self-actualization. From teacher observations and students' comments, need levels can be assessed and…

Prepared as part of the evaluation of the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP), this report offers topics for use in obtaining writing samples by which to evaluate student writing. An introduction explains the classification of the topics and suggests ways of selecting topics. The topics themselves are offered in nine appendixes. Four of the appendixes…

The critical components to be considered when establishing a writing center at the secondary level are facilities, staff, and operation. The term writing center is used because writing center is a more inclusive concept than writing lab, dealing not only with remedial work but also with polishing acquired skills and assisting students with…

This paper discusses the development of a program of writing instruction across the curriculum at William Jewell College. It reports on a series of faculty forums that discussed what the college-wide standards for effective writing should be, investigated multidisciplinary instruction in writing, and considered a proficiency test. Descriptions of…

The purpose of this study was to develop a sentence-combining system for teaching composition to seventh grade students. The exercises were designed so as to be independent of the students' previous knowledge of grammar. Chapter 1 examines recent studies in language and writing. The first part of chapter 2 demonstrates that normal growth in…

Notes that syllabus requirements for British secondary school literature courses tacitly create a course in writing as well. Presents ways in which this writing component can be implemented, without isolating it from the literature component. (HTH)

Explains a teaching method which uses students' sentences as examples of faulty writing, provides a clue system which guides students in error diagnosis, and requires the revision of example sentences. Explores the use of the method in developing students' understanding of the importance of revision. (AYC)

Describes a project that included prewriting activities based on the students' experiences, imaginative literature, encouragement to expand their descriptive ability, and opportunities to revise and edit their own work. (FL)

Notes that the basic elements of the English article system are best taught to foreign technical writing students over an extended period of time. Outlines a teaching method that emphasizes reducing errors that native English speakers perceive as wrong rather than teaching the nuances by which native writers fine tune their relationship with their…

Offers (1) suggestions on how to teach students the importance of regular study habits for learning to spell, (2) story ideas to help students get started with creative writing, and (3) a model of a daily record assignment book to help students organize and remember their homework assignments. (SRT)

Reexamines assumptions about teaching the research paper, including the following points: (1) research is suitable for all high-school students, not just college-bound seniors; (2) research is not natural, but requires much training; (3) real research does not restrict sources; (4) teachers can not teach research without doing research themselves;…

Seven secondary school teachers discuss the need for writing centers in secondary schools and identify the services they should provide. Includes descriptions of existing writing centers, and suggestions that writing centers should help students change their perception of writing as well as intervene in stages of the writing process. (JG)