Writing instructors at the School of New Resources (SNR), a Bachelor of Arts degree program designed specifically for adults over 21, follow a student-centered philosophy marked by students' responsibility for and participation in their own learning through small, interactive seminars. English courses are infused with a sensitivity to the special…

To learn more about the impact of word processing on the writing of college freshmen, a 2-year study involving 320 students of average writing ability investigated whether (1) students using word processors write significantly better than those who do not; (2) manipulating and improving sentences on a screen affects students' awareness of grammar,…

Intensive summer language schools are designed to increase student exposure to the target language, both in quantity and type. One way to increase student interest in the input is for a journalism class to produce a daily student newspaper in the target language. Such a project has gained popularity at a Portland, Oregon intensive German summer…

To make learning about various forms of poetry more interesting to high school students, this paper presents ideas based on an example and precept method of teaching instead of an analysis and explication method. In an introductory section, the paper explains how students will produce a poetry portfolio consisting of 10 or 12 types of poems such…

In a required class on literature and composition at Eastern Illinois University, students learn about the short story by writing one of their own. Their stories then become the context for an introduction to literary terminology such as point of view, setting, and use of dialogue versus narration. Having just written their own stories, students…

Composing written text in an educational context engages both students and teachers in struggles between convention and choice, resulting frequently in the negotiation of compromises with which neither teachers nor students feel comfortable. The linguistic traditions of a discipline are powerful determinants of the nature of the language in which…

Noting that while collaborative writing is commonplace in the "real" world it is seldom practiced in classrooms, the articles in this focused journal explore the place of collaboration in the writing process and the ways in which collaboration can be fostered in an instructional setting. Following an introduction by the editor, which…

A study was conducted by the Student Development Center of the University of Hawaii at Hilo to develop a writing placement procedure in a community college setting which would be practical, reliable, and valid. The key to this procedure was an English composition placement device that could help readers rate, holistically, writing samples written…

In the area of composition, computer assisted instruction (CAI) must move beyond the limited concerns of the current-traditional rhetoric to address the larger issues of writing, become process-centered, and involve active writing rather than answering multiple-choice questions. Researchers cite four major types of interactive CAI, the last of…

Many people are interested in computer aids to rhetorical invention and want to know how to evaluate an invention aid, what the criteria are for a good one, and how to assess the trade-offs involved in buying one product or another. The frame of reference for this evaluation is an "old paradigm," which treats the computer as if it were…

A research project investigated the relationship between cognitive development in college students and their rhetorical maturity. Viewing the problem of audience in composition instruction in terms of cognitive development reveals that it may not be enough to tell students that they must consider audience if they do not have the cognitive maturity…

Rhetoric textbooks continue to proliferate while writing teachers continue to grow more skeptical of their usefulness. The key question educators need to answer is whether all available composition textbooks are ineffective in the sense of being based on false notions about the composing process, or whether they are "intrinsically" ineffective.…

Noting that students often adopt a flat, lifeless style when writing a research paper, student papers were examined for evidence of the writer's presence. The presence of the writer is admittedly a subjective perception of the reader, but clues to the presence or absence of the writer can be identified. Though no one clue is definitive evidence,…

Teaching invention strategies on the computer offers solutions to the problems of selection and presence by providing a variety of invention strategy alternatives. These strategies inform the teacher of the rhetorical task at hand and allow communication to exist at all stages of writing. A writer using a computer and a pool of heuristic…

As a follow-up to the successful book "Eight Approaches to Teaching Composition," this collection of 13 original essays presents the major research and scholarship in the related fields that are shaping the theory and practice of composition studies. Each chapter defines a special area of study, assesses its published literature from the…