Presents a transcript of an interview with successful young adult author Jerry Spinelli. Describes the techniques and writing strategies used by Spinelli. Discusses ways of generating stories, and the author's concept of his audience. (HB)

Presents a study of the grammatical subjects as used in scientific discourse. Provides evidence that the grammatical subjects in a sample of scientific discourse are markedly long. Identifies three pressures that operate on scientists to produce such markedly long grammatical subjects. (HB)

A class structure and format for teaching writing skills are suggested by an English teacher at a school for deaf students. A typical lesson consists of 10 minutes of dialogue journal writing, a 15-minute minilesson, help with selecting writing topics, and 30 to 35 minutes for writing. Methodologies for teacher conferences, peer conferences, and…

This article describes the introduction of writing portfolios to elementary school students with learning disabilities in self-contained special education classrooms. It discusses getting started, contents of the portfolio, instructional goals and objectives, conferences, observations, and portfolio evaluation. (Author/DB)

Considers Mark Twain's novel "Huckleberry Finn" as an object of literary instruction, especially its racist overtones. Argues that Twain's depiction of the runaway slave Jim is positive. Shows how Twain's novel might be used from a multiethnic approach. (HB)

Comments on the interview of bell hooks in the preceding issue of the "Journal of Advanced Composition." Comments on hooks's concepts of audience and power, race relations, multicultural education, and the politics of literacy. (HB)

Presents an annotated bibliography of 12 research articles, all related to reader response theory and its applications to the English classroom. (HB)

Discusses the problems presented to writing center tutors by traditional research paper assignments. Recounts typical definitions of student research papers according to current-traditional rhetoric. Advocates writing centers helping students transform research papers into meaning-making activities in which students construct knowledge. (HB)

Research on college student essay writing looked at the qualitatively different ways that students conceive of essays, and therefore approach the writing process, and the qualitatively different types of essays that result. The findings are compared, and implications for the teaching of undergraduate essay writing are examined. (MSE)

Recounts the experiences of one middle-aged community college English teacher who decided to go after a terminal degree. Considers the pros and cons of returning to graduate school for the doctorate degree. Describes how teacher training for graduate students might be improved. (HB)

Describes a publication project (the Chukchi News and Information Service) that builds self-esteem and writing skills of minority students in rural Alaska. Outlines the methods for carrying out the project. Argues that such a project enhances student writing by framing it as a form of student "performance." (HB)

Argues that, difficult though it is to learn, revision is one of the most important components in helping students to perceive themselves as writers. Offers several teaching strategies for fostering revision. (SR)

Reviews research on effective strategies for teaching reading comprehension; written composition of narrative and expository text; and strategies for integrating reading and writing. Provides a set of teaching guidelines after each research review. Argues for teaching reading and writing as connected processes that have similar structures. (RS)

Students with deafness in a whole-language classroom complete writing exercises and then edit what they write at the "editors' table," where teams of students work with dictionaries, grammar guides, lists of commonly misspelled words, self-editing forms, and proofreading checklists. Use of the "editors' table" approach has created a community of…

Describes how a sixth-grade teacher turned sluggish Friday afternoons into student writing workshops. Students wrote essays on topics of their own choosing, exchanged papers with classmates to correct spelling and grammar, and provided each other with suggestions to improve the essays. Over the course of the school year, student writing improved…