Argues that journal writing is an essential component of reading instruction that needs to be seriously considered as a viable alternative to traditional approaches currently being used with reading disabled students in content area classes. (FL)

Compares the efficacy of objective and holistic writing evaluation, in the context of the freshman writing program evaluation procedure at a west coast university. Indicates that holistic evaluation of writing samples is a far more accurate measure of writing quality and potential. (HTH)

Argues in favor of teaching thesis and the forms of exposition by means of assignments such as personal narrative, autobiography, and observation out of direct experience. Describes one such assignment. (RL)

Illustrates the use of the creative writing activity "choose your own ending," in which junior high school students structure a story by writing two responses to major points in a plot. (RL)

Discusses how microcomputers can stimulate invention in composition, through electronic mail, text analysis, and word processing programs. Describes two exploratory studies designed to examine the feasibility of using a word processor for language experience and sentence-combining activities in the elementary school classroom. (HTH)

Examines ERIC documents that address the need to combine the teaching of literature and the teaching of writing. (HOD)

Writing conferences enable student writers to get feedback and make improvements as they write. Both teachers and students see writing as an evolving process rather than as a unalterable product to be corrected. Tips on how to manage conferences and examples of their use with students are given. (PP)

The two studies reported explored the feasibility of computer assisted composition in helping school-age children handle high-level aspects of the composing process. The results are discussed, and lines for future investigation of computer assisted writing programs for the novice are suggested. Eleven references and two additional sources are…

Presents a unit that uses folk and fairy tales to provide a literary background for creative writing in a fourth-grade classroom. (FL)

Presents a schema for analyzing student writing on three levels: (1) the sentence from the perspective of syntactic maturity; (2) the text, an attempt to examine what affects a text's cohesion; and (3) discourse, the text considered for its efficacy and appropriateness. (AMH)

Proposes that technical writing teachers ask their students to analyze the ethos--the revelation of a writer's character through the rhetorical choices a writer makes--of the profession they are preparing to enter. Provides examples of such analysis. (RL)

Cites a lack of reading experience as a primary cause for the poor writing style of most college freshmen and encourages creating an interest in reading in the composition classroom as the most beneficial way to develop students' writing skills. (HTH)

Presents excerpts from interviews with Zella Jackson, Title I Coordinator in New York City's Community School District 5, Central Harlem. Offers a glimpse of one perspective on life in Harlem, particularly its educational environment. (RL)

Presents a set of writing assignments and class activities for helping students to define their own writing problems, set their own goals, and evaluate their own progress. (RL)

Stresses the virtues of one technique and the limitations of another technique for focusing on a writing topic. (RL)