Reports on a three-year study of the effects of a newly implemented italic handwriting instruction program on students' handwriting legibility. Finds that while italic papers received significantly higher ratings than nonitalic ones, legibility ratings declined over time. Reports that teachers' impressions of the program are generally favorable.…

Explains antifoundationalism which holds that there is no necessary nor self-evident knowledge. Notes that in rejecting the existence of absolute truth, antifoundationalism retains no ability to offer alternatives to foundationalist schemes for cultural literacy. Argues that foundationalism's critics must identify nonfoundational authority for…

Explores possible responses to students' writings about religion. Suggests a social-epistemic response, urging students to examine their assumptions and to write for conflicting audiences. Proposes a unit on religious discourse, including various readings on religious rhetoric combined with students writing about their own religious background and…

Discusses the following issues associated with designing ideal university microcomputer classrooms: (1) campus vs. departmental classrooms; (2) finding space; (3) furnishings; (4) classroom layout; (5) selecting hardware; (6) selecting software; and (7) funding. (MM)

Writing programs that emphasize publication of gifted students' work stress different skills, by transforming the writing process into a combination of creative thinking with the use of structured magazine format. This article presents 10 steps in writing for publication and lists magazines that regularly accept student work for publication. (PB)

This article discusses recent thoughts and findings concerning the value of creative writing for gifted students and best practices for its instruction. Discussed are a five-step plan for curriculum development, the use of literary models as keys for discussion and emulation, and the complexities of evaluating student work in such a subjective…

Describes the University of New Mexico's undergraduate writing program which provides a concentration in professional writing, offering students vocational and humanistic preparation by teaching skills and critically examining the contexts of their writing. Concludes that the English curriculum should accept the complementary importance of writing…

Investigates the differential effects of ownership opportunities and instructional support on the writing-task engagement of high school students reporting low-, mid-, and high-levels of writing self-efficacy. (RAE)

Argues that composition students can become aware of audience and purpose and develop ideas for original essays through study of film reviews. Suggests relevant writing assignments. (RAE)

Describes a model of visual communication which provides a framework for teaching students to analyze and design technical documents as visual systems. Notes that by integrating the writing and design processes, students can adapt visual language to the rhetorical variables of each communication task. (MM)

Uses the metaphor of an ecosystem to describe the interactions, as revealed in a series of writing assignments, between an undergraduate being tutored at the writing center and an undergraduate writing tutor and participant in a writing workshop. (MM)

Traces the importance of authorship in literacy development, and shows how authorship can become one focus of a whole language classroom. (MM)

Outlines a series of activities using story writing to teach first grade students about story structure. (MM)

Describes how creating "mythical machines" can develop students' technical writing skills. Describes how students work in groups to produce documents for various purposes related to their machine. (MM)

Describes several assignments and activities that focus on writing for "real-world" purposes, including writing to pen pals, government agencies, and for children or the elderly. (MM)