Argues that consideration of discipline and culture are complex and interrelated issue in academic writing and that this complexity and interrelationship can be seen at several different levels in specialized academic texts. Reviews research on contrastive rhetoric to investigate the impact of cultural and disciplinary factors on text construction…

Examines the interactions that take place as nine exemplary teachers from New Zealand provide support for struggling writers in ways that inadvertently often turn out to be less effective than they hoped. Discusses four ways to produce unintended outcomes. Illustrates that even for exceptional teachers of writing, conducting effective conferences…

Motivates teachers to apply several recommended techniques designed to improve communications within the context of studying mathematics. Suggests that mathematics teachers should help teachers of language arts courses, such as reading-in-the-content-area, by providing subject-specific examples and instructional techniques. Notes that these…

Explores the possibilities of the paperless classroom achieved through e-mail strategies and the use of Blackboard, an e-learning software platform. Claims that the system can be an efficient method for storing and evaluating papers and communicating with students. Concludes that the system allows the author to create a permanent electronic paper…

Notes the importance of online writing groups in an English 101 class. Suggests that for any writing group to be effective, students need to feel safe to express themselves. Describes three main writing assignments which created connected, motivated writing groups: the biography assignment, an essay on identity, and a group essay. (PM)

Considers how the emphasis on literacy instruction in elementary schools makes it difficult to adequately teach content, especially science. Notes that literacy practices can serve as a catalyst for science learning because they provide a means for organizing information and developing habits of mind necessary for scientific exploration. Looks…

Focusing on the emergent Chinese and English literacy of a 5-year-old boy from Taiwan, provides insight into the debate within the field of bilingual education as to whether the introduction of literacy in languages with two different writing systems helps or hinders literacy development in both languages. (Author/VWL)

Shares how middle school students easily learned to use the CD-ROM for their writing and research activities. (MG)

Discusses specific problems (arising in the context of a writing center visit) that writing assignments have caused students. Considers problems in teachers communicating objectives with students, unspecific teacher comments on students' papers, lack of examples for the writing assignment, overemphasis on grammatical correctness, unspecified…

The whole-language learning approach is applied to the teaching of writing skills to children with disabilities. Oral storytelling is the basis for an eight-step procedure which progresses from hearing a storyteller through writing a class story and on to publishing and storytelling. (DB)

Describes a collaborative writing assignment which features a series of interconnected business messages arising out of a case study and including inhouse memos and an analytical report. Shows how the design of a collaborative writing assignment can foster creative rather than debilitative tension. (RS)

Describes five writing activities for college writing courses: (1) a documented opinion paper exercise; (2) breaking writing rules; (3) trip reports from absentees; (4) case studies to promote writing for particular audiences for pragmatic purposes; and (5) an organizing strategy for studying, using a chart format. (SR)

Argues that, as the world becomes increasingly less human and more technocratic, staying in contact with whatever is humane requires conscious effort. Suggests the use of poetry writing assignments as a means of preserving children's inventiveness and imagination. Provides examples of poems written by schoolchildren. (SG)

Argues that, although most people dislike writing, instructors can make the task less onerous for young students. Suggests that the presence of both feeling and awareness of an audience can facilitate writing. Includes segments of interviews with professional writers and samples of seven-year-olds' writings. (SG)

Presents a small sampling of the letters and manuscripts received in response to an earlier article by Karen Jost. Notes that, upon considering all the responses, those supporting Jost's position that writing teachers should not be expected to write outnumber those disagreeing by five to one. (RS)