Illustrates the utility of composition classes to college juniors and seniors by having them interview someone in their future profession or career about the writing that person does on the job. (MS)

Notes that there are two common definitions of writing style, one monistic and one dualistic, both of which make style unteachable. Reviews these two concepts and then offers an alternative definition of style that unites the advantages of each. (FL)

Presents specific implications of writing research for teachers who work with gifted youngsters in elementary school writing. Supports the use of derived plot patterns and point of view as two types of literature-based writing assignments that work especially well with gifted students. (MS)

Compares and describes written language environments of kindergarten children in Scandinavia, Great Britain, and the United States. Finds a lack of written language in Scandinavian kindergartens, writing in the context of interactive play in Great Britain, and either academic writing instruction or developmentally appropriate print-rich…

Describes a method of writing about literature in which "major detail sentences" (sentences which make generalizations about the point of the paragraph) help students combine their observations and the facts of the story into an analytical form. (MM)

Describes how a "strip story" activity (reassembling a text from strips of paper containing the text's sentences) develops reciprocity, the interaction between reading and writing as the reader negotiates a text and the writer assists the process. (MM)

Presents a memorandum report assignment involving the selection of magazines in students' major fields. (MS)

Evaluates New Mexico State University's remedial writing program for beginning journalism students. Reports that students may benefit from the program. (MM)

Explains that peer evaluation in news writing courses is an effective way to increase the amount of information provided to student writers without adding to an instructor's grading load. Suggests several feedback structures, including source questionnaires, grading grids, and directed peer evaluation guides. (MM)

Emphasizes the need for teaching specificity as well as accuracy in beginning journalism courses. Presents a questionnaire which can be used to show how general phrases are often misinterpreted by readers. (MM)

Points out that many students are unsuccessful learners either because they do not know how to learn or because they do not practice the skills they have been taught. Provides examples of composition assignments which teach students logical strategies. (ARH)

Presents an instructional unit, "Literary Lifeboat," a purposeful writing exercise in which students write character justifications for familiar stories. Describes the unit's implementation in a Year 5 class, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the exercise. (MM)

Proposes that technical writing teachers have a special responsibility to use their subject matter to advance the critical reasoning processes required in the composing process, the disciplines, and the professions. Suggests 10 critical thinking skills to encourage in technical writing courses. (MS)

Teachers as readers would have a more pleasant and stimulating job if they were reading essays that interested them. The step to reading a good paper is designing a good assignment. Some areas that need to be defined for students before they begin to write are outlined. (MLW)

Points out that most college-level teachers are not trained to teach technical writing, although graduate school, experience teaching rhetoric, and professional input from specially trained technical writing instructors can help college teachers learn to teach technical writing. (SKC)