Proposes "organizational trees" as a means of helping students understand that each sentence in an essay must have purpose and direction. (FL)

A survey of U.S. medical schools to determine the extent and nature of instruction in medical writing is discussed. Of the 101 schools responding, only 15 offered writing courses. Those not offering courses indicated a need but claimed lack of time, interest of those needing instruction, and qualified faculty members. (Author/MSE)

Advocates encouraging children to write about what they know best--the rich fantasy worlds they create in play. (Author)

Contains citations for reviews, and articles on the technical writing profession, pedagogy, research, technical writing and the computer, and editing. (HTH)

Discusses the benefits in extending writing center services to teachers both for inservice training and to help instructors see themselves as writers and teachers of writing. (AEA)

Examines three strategies by which competitive debaters generate and organize their affirmative cases. Discusses how the persuasive writer can use these same three strategies as heuristics for deliberative discourse and as models for its organization. (HTH)

Presents a nine-step program for reviving a school's teaching of writing, including gaining faculty participation, compiling a bibliography, getting participants' descriptions of effective methods of teaching writing, and having participants present workshops built on doing, looking at, and learning from their teaching methods. Provides a…

Discusses problems in designing and interpreting research on the effects of topics used in essay exams, particularly minimum competency exams. Reviews current research on the effects of topics and their presentation. (HTH)

Discusses components of a model program for teaching graduate students how to teach writing. Ideally, the program would run prior to as well as concurrent with actual teaching. (HTH)

Notes how several long-accepted methods of teaching writing actually retard or prevent development of competence in writing and suggests alternative methods. Student energies should be focused on communicating ideas rather than on displaying formal perfection. (PGD)

Stresses the importance of letter writing as an enriching activity; describes "All About Letters," a resource booklet for teaching students to write letters; and suggests additional activities that can be used to incorporate letter writing skills into composition classes. (JL)

Discusses poststructuralist or postmodernist theories of literary study and suggests that English instruction is in the midst of a major upheaval. Asserts that how the upheaval is handled will have serious, long-range effects for the future of the profession. (AEA)

Examines the reading personna of the writer and its functions. Discusses how a writing instructor, by means of listening in a conference setting, can bring this other personna into existence. (HTH)

Examines the four-category model developed by Andrew Wilkinson at the University of Essex (England) to assess growth in writing maturity. The four measures of development are stylistic, affective, cognitive, and moral. Each has several subcategories. Includes college student essays to illustrate the model. (HTH)

Describes a program for teaching writing as an integral part of college sociology classes. Students do frequent free-writing exercises, participate in small weekly writing groups, and compose final papers. Suggestions for implementation are offered. (AM)