Proposes that ethnography is a useful tool for helping teachers understand the cultural context of their students. Examines a high school writing lab, emphasizing the role of the tutor. Describes the experiences of the writing lab staff in learning the culture of adolescents through ethnography. (RS)

A Job Training Partnership Act-funded reading, writing, mathematics, and cooperative learning program for 83 participants aged 14-21 was evaluated with pre- and postassessments. Program strengths identified were emphasis on a workplace atmosphere, structure with flexibility, variety in grouping procedures, computer-assisted writing, and outside…

Notes that not having anything to say is a major hurdle in the writing process at the middle school level. Describes two common classroom experiences, based on the software programs "GeoWorld" and "Food for Thought," that enable all students to acquire and share information together. (RS)

Describes how a first grade teacher runs a "writer's workshop" based on the process approach to writing. Discusses how children develop their ideas for stories, share their writing with their peers, and decide whether or not to "publish" their writing. Notes that the students are enthusiastic about participating in the workshop. (RS)

Three rationales that have been offered for denying disciplinary status to legal writing as a component of law school curricula are analyzed. It is argued that legal writing deserves such status. Ways in which increased diversity in inquiry modes support the development of legal writing instructional theory are illustrated. (SLD)

Provides strategies designed to help both mainstream and underrepresented students meet the rhetorical demands of placement exams and gain control in these situations. Describes the University of California Santa Barbara's Preparatory Program which serves a large, culturally diverse student population, acknowledges the variables embedded in the…

Explores the need for technical writing instruction for English majors. Reports that English majors entering M.B.A. programs felt unprepared for technical writing and business communication. Argues that technical writing instruction would broaden preservice English teachers' discourse education and their knowledge of the kinds of writing people do…

Studies the visual markers which students employ in writing descriptive and instructional text. Applies the guidelines approach, design decisions approach, and the information/reader model approach. Reports that beginning technical writing majors used fewer illustrations and visual markers than did technical majors. Suggests that the results may…

Considers the social nature of language and applies it to the composition classroom. Demonstrates how the composition teacher's conception of language influences the student's position of power. Argues that the "democratic" use of language allows students from lower social classes to appropriate language and to make changes which will…

Surveys 221 college basic writing instructors concerning the thinking and writing skills they stress and how receptive basic writers are to learning such skills. Notes a dilemma in that teachers emphasize the mechanical skills students say they want, yet students are not receptive to mastering these skills. (RS)

Uses an epistolary form to recommend the incorporation of "trickster and dilemma tales" (in which characters trick their way through a story or present moral dilemmas to the reader) in English as a second language (ESL) classes. Notes that such tales act as catalysts for critical and creative thinking. (RS)

Describes how a computerized text analysis program can help students discover error patterns in their writing, and notes how students' responses to analyses can reduce errors and improve their writing. (MM)

Argues that writing centers can unintentionally emphasize writing-for-evaluation at the expense of writing-for-learning. Proposes that writing centers help students write productive journal entries; coach students in freewriting; appeal directly to students in writing-for-learning courses; and sponsor ongoing faculty education in…

Describes interdisciplinary strategies that develop civic literacy by empowering students as members of a democratic community. Concludes that civic writing, using the research skills of inquiry and advocacy, is a successful catalyst for developing civic community. (MM)

Reports survey results on the major factors or stressors related to teaching business and professional writing and the actual or potential coping strategies to reduce that stress. (SR)