Suggests that students will not automatically make use of grammatical concepts, syntactic constructions, and language conventions no matter how they are taught such concepts. Argues that teaching "grammar" in the context of writing works better than teaching grammar as a formal system. Offers three examples of extended grammar minilessons. (RS)

This bibliography cites and summarizes theoretically grounded reports of research and discussions of central issues in second- and foreign-language writing and writing instruction that have become available during the period of April 1, 1995 through July 31, 1995. Categories include writers, processes, texts, audience/assessment, contexts,…

Characterizes ecofeminism by describing its six major claims. Aims to widen the circle of concerns in the teaching of reading and writing to include (in addition to race, gender and class) what ecofeminists recommend to save the natural world. (TB)

Argues that the very qualities that critics most object to in scientific work are those that afford the most productive communal discussion. Suggests that by disparaging objective methods and advocating increasingly subjectivist methods, compositionists may be impairing their ability to improve their own work and use it to promote social justice.…

Argues that the relationship between writer and reader (or audience) must be reimagined in writing theory so as to recognize that neither is knowable or static. Suggests that Thomas Kent's theory of paralogic hermeneutics could help teachers advance a theory of audience that would act as a bridge between actual writing and theories of language.…

Contains two articles on writing instruction: the first shows how the prospect of student publishing inspires students to try new forms of writing; the second explains a marking system that encourages students to see the importance of the content in their writing. (TB)

Explains how a teacher teaches process writing in her mainstream high school classes, despite her obligation to cover grammar, literature, vocabulary, research, and communication. Shows how some approaches to process writing can be modified to fit it into a tighter, more structured course. (TB)

This column examines issues associated with measuring assistive technology outcomes in writing. Following an introduction to assistive technology and writing, it looks specifically at design, measurement, analysis, and decision making factors in the process of creating an outcomes system for measuring the impact of assistive technology on writing.…

Describes what students had to say about parental roles. Includes students' views about parental roles in real life, their expectations of parental roles in realistic and historical novels, their impressions of the parents they encountered in the selected books, and a comparison across genres about these parental characters. Presents guidelines…

Examines the assumptions that underlie critical reading and critical literacy. Argues that there are fundamental philosophical distinctions between liberal-humanist critical reading and critical literacy, and demonstrates why educators need to acknowledge and understand these differences. Suggests that practices associated with critical literacy…

Notes scholars in composition studies have begun to question the issues of writing in academic discourse communities. Explains college students (particularly basic writers and English-as-a-second-language writers) are only beginning to find acceptable spaces for their alternative writing styles in academia. Concludes if hybrid discourse were…

Presents an assignment, conducted by the business communications instructor as "raconteur," that elicits discussions about ethics, decision making, channeling, legal questions, and the practical applications of business communications. Describes how the class completes a major report on a career and participates in three interviews so that they…

Notes that in a familiar essay, the form is determined by the peculiar way that a person tells a story. Contends that the act of writing needs no preconceived outline, reserving the right for the writing to seek its own shape, order, and texture. Concludes that conceived and composed in this way, the essay bears allegiance to the writer. (PM)

Highlights exemplary moments from the first three writing courses that Youngstown State University has been teaching at a union hall for steel workers. Includes excerpts from student interviews; illustrates the teachers' evolving approach to teaching writing in a workplace setting; and explains student responses to writing assignments. (TB)

Offers observations about the borrowing of written texts within a corporation called Cerebellum Inc. Attempts by doing so to initiate a dialog about the culturally constructed concept of plagiarism and the practice of borrowing from other people's work. (TB)