Describes the debate among Australian English teachers concerning "genre-based" approaches to writing development. Notes that applying lessons learned from the Australian debate without an awareness of the assumptions driving the debate may well lead to educators in other countries needlessly covering unnecessary and largely infertile…

It is predicted that the apparent trend toward the reinstatement of literature within language courses will continue, and student involvement in the creative process is advocated. A small project carried out at the Guangzhou Institute of Foreign Languages in China is described. (19 references) (LB)

Elementary teachers can use folktales to teach story structure. After students read a folktale, they can brainstorm for story ideas, create and revise outlines and drafts, edit their stories in pairs, complete a final version, then construct and illustrate a book. A student page teaches how to plan a folktale. (SM)

Discusses techniques to use in helping children write more concisely. Minilesson techniques are presented that guide children in making effective writing revisions and deletions as well as explaining why these techniques are useful. (GLR)

Suggests the challenge that genre theory presents to educators in the United Kingdom is whether to avoid it because others have reported the dangers or whether to grapple with it and discover what insights might be found. Argues that genre theory is not a method of teaching writing alone: it relates to each language activity. (RS)

Studies writing teachers' rhetorical comments on student papers, including its historical background and as a recent phenomenon. Reviews the findings of an extensive study conducted on a sample of 3,000 student papers concerning instructors' rhetorical commentary. Outlines basic patterns and types of teacher comments. (HB)

Describes the development of a writing course that facilitates the development of students' writing skills at the same time it provides an opportunity for them to learn about the construction of gender through language. Combines the study of revision with that of "re-vision," as feminists use the term. (RS)

Describes a classroom project in which students prepare a complex collaborative document (assembled from subparts, each collaboratively produced). Enumerates advantages and problems that grow out of this complex collaboration in relation to overall goals for the teaching of writing skills. (SR)

Explains why the author, a staunch disciple of teaching writing as a process, teaches a primarily product-oriented technical writing course. Describes how he incorporates process theory into the course. Defends the emphasis on the process approach in graduate programs for writing teachers. (SR)

Argues that the confused thinking of the planners of Great Britain's National Curriculum for English is reflected in the relationship between speech and writing. Criticizes the curriculum's view that there is little difference between spoken and written English. Asserts that teachers can encourage in students a creative, flexible, and personal…

Discusses the advantages of making the writing center part of the instructional media center in schools and provides some questions to consider in setting up a writing center. Offers three examples of popular writing assignments. (MG)

Contrasts the presentational mode of industrial writing--its strategies and techniques--with the reflective mode of traditional academic essay writing. Details industrial writing techniques and the organizational reasons for such techniques. (SR)

Demonstrates how portfolios can be used to motivate students, promote learning through reflection and self-assessment, evaluate and change curriculum, replace or validate tests, and evaluate student writing processes, among other things. Describes the experiences of students at a junior high school and two high schools in California, and draws…

A teacher at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (District of Columbia) recounts how she learned to use the Whole Language approach to writing instruction, to encourage student writing and conduct teacher/student conferences, and to stimulate students' reading interests. (DB)

Describes how the school literary journal can be used to publish students' writing about public affairs to add new dimensions to the journal and transform it to a comprehensive display of students' interests and writing abilities. (MG)