Many writing teachers have a favorite way to configure a class, a favorite method of imparting knowledge, a preferred voice in which to speak. However, there is so much diversity among students in a writing classroom, especially a freshman writing classroom, that a writing teacher needs to take an eclectic approach and use a variety of teaching…

The research exploring children's perspectives on interactive writing versus independent writing was examined. Studies were analyzed to determine the perspectives of students toward writing when they experienced an interactive writing event and when they did not share this experience. Since interactive writing is a collaborative group writing…

In a debate in the Forum section of the "TESOL Quarterly", Jones and Silva (1998) exchanged views about the merits and demerits of teacher-assigned themes and topics in tertiary-level EFL/ESL writing classes. However, much more remains to be explored. Should teachers assign the topics of papers, or even the content themes for the entire…

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) briefly discuss the advantages and limitations of popular strategies of rhetorical invention used in college composition courses; (2) provide a rationale for including literary criticism in the existing repertoire of rhetorical invention strategies; (3) provide an overview of several paradigms within literary…

No longer little children, but not yet teenagers, tweens are beginning to see themselves as autonomous while still struggling to understand where they fit in. It can also be an awkward time for teachers who cherish the hilarious and poignant personalities of tween writers, but feel pressured by a new emphasis on testing in the intermediate grades.…

Description can make a piece of writing come alive. This lesson plan combines art and word play, emphasizing writing for an audience while drawing on multiple intelligences. Peer review and feedback reinforces the revision process as students create trading cards by drawing pictures of monsters and describing and categorizing them in detail.…

This handbook seeks to provide a practical, readable guide to teaching writing across a broad range of ages and grade levels (K-8). The handbook's seven chapters cover each stage of the writing process in detail, from setting a purpose for writing to drafting, revising, editing, and producing a "finished" product. Its goal is to provide…

This document is designed for use by teaching assistants running intervention sessions associated with the Early Literacy Support (ELS) Programme of the National Literacy Strategy. It is the essential guide to running the sessions each day, and includes details of resources and preparation for each session as well as a full script. The document…

Metaphors such as "gypsy academics,""freeway flyers," and "contingent laborers," ascribed by compositionists to their work and its conditions, comment on the low status of composition specialists and teachers in academic hierarchies. Work is the activity around which a profession forms, and, as such, it produces…

"Writing the Community: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Composition" (1997, Adler-Kassner, et. al.) begins with calling the inclusion of service-learning curricula into college-level composition a "microrevolution" rather than a trend. However, a review of the service-learning composition literature illustrates that…

Founded in 1854 as the Ashmun Institute, Lincoln University in southern Pennsylvania is the nation's oldest historically black university. Classical rhetoric and canonical literature were taught at Lincoln since its founding. Lincoln's writing program emerged fully and autonomously in 1978 and grew roughly at the same time that the discipline of…

This book is intended to be a stimulus for educators who want to teach or plan curriculum with the long view in mind. The book states that although sustainability--meeting today's needs without jeopardizing the interests of future generations--has become a dominating force in diverse disciplines, it has yet to play a substantive role in English…

Research has indicated that teachers' beliefs and their value systems guide the implementation of specific instructional strategies in their classrooms. Moreover, the ways in which they structure their instructional environments are also influenced by their belief systems. In areas where there are contestable views about the most effective ways of…

This report describes a program for advancing written expression skills in the primary grades. Extensive research over the past years has shown that an emphasis on mechanics and conventions inhibits the process of writing in primary students. The targeted population consisted of first and second grade students in a middle class community, located…

Designed for a broad audience in education, this book offers a realistic look at the wide range of teaching contexts and how writing teachers adapt their pedagogy to their particular circumstances. Specific topics highlighted by individual essays include: basic writing, service learning, online writing, revision, research writing, proofreading and…