A major tenet of feminist rhetorical theory is that there exists a "women's way" of writing. At the same time, much writing deals with the strong shift in the relationship between theory and practice in the fields of literature, composition, and cultural rhetoric. A study examined the intersection of genre and gender theory with the…

This paper describes some problems one teacher has had trying to develop a feminist pedagogy for a composition class that does not elide sexual orientation as an identity facet in the classroom. The paper focuses on two essays, Mary Elliot's "Coming Out in the Classroom: A Return to the Hard Place" (1996) and Susan Jarratt's…

This document is a study guide for the Technical Writing I course at Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee. It focuses on the writing process and offers strategies for improving writing. The guide also covers writing for specific audiences and purposes. Sections include: (1) the course syllabus; (2) grading criteria; (3) basic computer skills; (4)…

Aimed at junior and senior high school teachers and artists in residence, this book urges teachers and students to read and write poetry "as though their lives depended upon it," and to breathe life into classroom writing traditions that are not hands-on or intense. Each chapter is set in the classroom. Poems by students and teacher…

While advocates of guided imagery practice in the classroom fear most that inexperienced practitioners will abandon this effective means of developing metacognitive skills because students will not use imagery properly or because they themselves have not had the opportunity to learn guiding techniques from in-services or mentoring, the real threat…

A composition instructor developed a course that has moral traction, a course intended to serve as a blueprint for students, a heuristic for enlarging social consciousness and effecting social change. On the first day of class, the instructor introduces the "fundamental theme" of poverty and a schedule of assignments/activities that…

This paper presents a description and brief history of the concept of "racial uplift" and describes its implications for a contemporary, Black college professor. The phrase "racial uplift," for 19th-century Black women, describes almost any type of political activity designed to improve conditions for Black people during the…

Teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL or L2) are encouraged to design writing prompts with great care and to work through them in detail, considering the wording, the mode of discourse, the rhetorical specifications, and the subject matter of each writing assignment. When confronted with a less clear, less precise prompt, L2 writers may…

Just like their native-English-speaking peers, the many international students participating in United States higher education are subject to the institutional practices of composition studies. Those international students who are also English as a Second Language (ESL) students have special needs. In addition to the obvious grammar problems, many…

Written by a workplace literacy teacher, this writing curriculum guide contains information, reflections, and student handouts for teaching writing to adult students. Topics covered include motivation to write, misconceptions about writing, the writing process (rehearsal, drafting, revision, editing, and publishing), spelling, and voice. (KC)

Growth into literacy occurs most effectively with the engagement of the learner. The question is therefore: what motivates learners to sustain them through the struggle to attain literacy? In this aspect of literacy education, "lifewriting" can be a most powerful medium. Basic to all of the lifewriting programs described in the text,…

This collection of 10 essays argues that portfolios in the writing classroom are worth exploring and that such exploration opens up new opportunities: new ways to learn to write, to think about teaching writing, to understand students, teachers, and curricula, and to describe and report on what is found. The collection makes this argument by…

Contextualizing reality is the final goal of academic pursuit, and in college level language studies, a key goal should always be to make students aware of what they already know. The words used by humans are either organizational, functional words, or they are related to cultural literacy. Cultural literacy is a body of knowledge that all people…

The discourse of writing center conferences was studied to determine whether it is potentially different from classroom discourse. The question was what happens to communication between teacher and student when the setting and roles are somewhat altered. The writing center setting was chosen because the focus is on face-to-face conversation that…

Fifteen poets have created this guide to teaching the work of Walt Whitman from kindergarten to college level. In essays based on the personal experience of these imaginative writers, the guide presents practical ideas for fresh ways to read Whitman and to write poetry and prose inspired by him. The guide also includes three pieces on education by…