Claims that the field of rhetoric and composition is currently embroiled in a debate regarding the question of politics in the English classroom. Outlines the current debate and provides analysis. Makes suggestions for teaching rhetorical values by discussing the historical tradition of rhetoric and ethics. (HB)

Discusses and problematizes the kinds of "borders" that exist in the English classroom. Considers how English teachers who use computers often establish and maintain borders. Describes political boundaries associated with computer interfaces. Presents tactics for enacting a radical pedagogy of electronic borders. (HB)

Focuses on the tutorial function of writing centers. Describes the uniqueness of the tutorial relationship. Claims that this relationship makes possible knowledge about writing unavailable in more institutionalized settings. Analyzes extensive excerpts from student comments concerning tutorial experiences. (HB)

Discusses an unsuccessful English 101 writing assignment in which students were asked to analyze a Gary Larson cartoon. Examines critically the type of assignment that seeks to address and incorporate the student writer's "local knowledge" of cultural texts, while at the same time containing what counts as knowledge within limited parameters of…

Investigates writing skills learned in a low socioeconomic status, urban, primary, whole-language classroom. Finds that the children became more fluent writers who used more complex sentences, but the surface level skills used for some purposes did not become automatic. Suggests that some children need more opportunities for editing and…

Presents the story of one urban, African American, third-grade girl's writing. Discusses the roles that teachers, peers, and cultural contexts play in children's growth into--and against--the life and literacy that surrounds them. (SR)

Multilevel analyses compared performances of 12 deaf Jamaican adolescents (ages 15 and 16) and 12 hearing adolescents (ages 13 and 14) on writing, reading, and (for deaf subjects) sign language tasks. The deaf adolescents' ability to express complex ideas in sign language supported the need for use of a bilingual approach to the teaching of…

Suggests that the power of autobiographical writing, as part of teachers' reflection and theorizing, is in its potential for rethinking teaching and schooling from a critical and feminist vantage point. Maintains that an autobiographical approach keeps alive a woman's sense of the problematic nature of all theoretical discourses and works to test…

Examines the ways English teachers might try to make progress with uninterested and/or problem students. Narrates one teacher's experience with a particular male student, and how she partly got through to him. (HB)

Describes the philosophical phenomenology of Edmund Husserl and argues that his insights can greatly inform contemporary composition theory. Discusses how phenomenology affects both design and analysis in composition research. (HB)

Argues that understanding assignments is the first step toward successful college writing. Urges instructors to support students by helping them to decode assignments. Breaks down instructions into individual tasks including (1) writing an essay, (2) examining an issue, (3) reviewing articles and books, and (4) focusing on some texts. Defines each…

Discusses intercultural problems of writing academic English in a non-English context, specifically in Finland. It is argued that before such courses are designed for academic nonnative writers and for teachers of such writers, it is essential to conduct textlinguistic research into cultural and linguistic differences in the practices existing…

Explores the reading-writing relationship using control and treatment groups from two separate populations--college remedial readers and sixth graders. Finds a significant increase in reading comprehension and a significant decrease in writing errors for the sixth grade experimental group and an improvement in writing complexity in the college…

This review of research on the use of whole language with students with hearing impairments identifies recurring themes, such as whole language is effective for students from a variety of backgrounds and age levels, and literacy development of deaf students exposed to a literate environment parallels that of hearing students. (JDD)

The conclusion drawn from this study is that whether an English-as-a-Second-Language student writes compositions directly in English or translates from the first language into English makes no substantial qualitative or quantitative difference in the written products. (14 references) (KM)