Describes a biography-writing project that links research to literary discourse. Notes that the power of literary discourse supported the research project and tapped students' energy to write. (MM)

Asserts that writing teachers can learn about developing writing skills by becoming free-lance writers, submitting their own manuscripts for publication. (MM)

Distinguishes between two views of writing: "writing" as composing and making meaning; and "writing down" as encoding and using literacy tools. Defines literacy as the ability to use oral and written language for the goal of self-awareness. Describes several ways to provide students with opportunities to develop literacy. (MM)

Suggests ways to improve publications writing by alleviating time constraints on advisors and taking advantage of the skills of the publications staff, faculty, and other students. Suggests: (1) building on already gained writing experience; (2) selecting models and posting them for students; and (3) using a formula sheet for gathering…

Describes "academentia," the delusion that disciplines are intellectually powerful as a result of their specialization. Prescribes "neighborliness"--intellectual and practical work done from the perspective of critical consciousness--as the antidote to academentia. Suggests that writing projects have great potential as…

Describes the distinction between the National Endowment for the Arts, which funds artists, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds those who talk about art. Examines the similar distinction in alliances between writers and scholars in English departments, focusing on their effects on writing programs. (MM)

Explores some special qualities of children's writing--directness, adventurousness, and innocence. Asserts that writing instructors must be aware of the transitional nature of children's writing while teaching them the mechanics of writing. (MM)

Describes how project plans, report plans, and decision analysis matrices can help technical writing students analyze their research and develop strategies of presentation before their writing begins. (MM)

Describes how a request for proposals (RFP)--a solicitation of offers to perform a job or service--can be an effective tool to teach proposal writing to technical writing students. (MM)

Describes how sharing students' writing in small groups is a good alternative to sharing writing with the whole class. Provides "Author's Circle" guidelines to clarify group procedures. (MM)

Describes techniques to improve peer conferencing and teacher-student conferencing about student writing. Notes that by using the conferencing techniques modeled by the teacher, students can become adept at developing and applying their editing and writing skills. (MM)

The review of the literature on handwriting instruction with learning disabled students found that a direct teaching approach is generally the most effective, that most process training programs lack empirical support, and that behavioral and cognitive modification techniques are empirically sound and effective. (Author/DB)

Uses Theodore Roethke's poem "The Old Florist" to illustrate the model, or structural, approach to teaching poetry writing (where students discover the operating structure of a poem in order to write their own). Discusses the student poems it inspired to show the potential of this approach. (SR)

Discusses advantages and disadvantages of several common methodologies for teaching writing. Suggests that the techniques of behavior analysis offer the best hope for developing instructional methodologies that will provide the best results for both writing students and teachers. Reports on a pilot study that supports this suggestion. (MM)

Describes a procedure for keeping a running commentary on student writing. Claims cumulative comment sheets allow the teacher to get to know students more quickly, to recognize recurring error patterns, and to include genuine compliments, and help both student and teacher keep track of the student's progress. (SR)