Offers an introduction to this new column about reading and writing and curriculum integration. Discusses the social nature of reading and writing. (SR)

Examines the "whats" and "hows" of first-grade urban children's appropriation of sports and sports-related media material for participation in unofficial peer worlds and official academic ones. Reveals the potential hybrid nature of even the earliest of children's written texts. Suggests that learning to write involves work of the imagination on…

Focuses on the nominal expressions in the discourse on management. Finds that these nominals recursively delete not only agent roles but also those of experiencer, object, and goal, and at the same time conflate the interests of researchers and managers. Suggests that management nominals are a particularly intense expression of modernity itself.…

Offers a first-hand account of a 13-year summer rhetoric seminar, an educational endeavor that contributed to the development and dissemination of rhetoric and composition as an academic field. Narrates the initiation and changing emphases of the seminar, movements that paralleled changes in the field of rhetoric and composition. (RS)

A shift in emphasis from product to process has had a profound influence on the way writing is taught. Articles in this theme issue focus on developing the ability to write for communication, the ability to manage the writing process, and an understanding of the social context in which the writing process is embedded. (SLD)

Describes an assignment for a sophomore-level technical-writing course which teaches students to respond to different audiences with different needs by having them analyze and then respond to actual complaint letters (on the same topic but from two very different people). Includes successful and unsuccessful responses generated by the students.…

Examines experimental research reports and published practitioner accounts to show that few users, even "experienced" users, used a word-processing package at anywhere near its full potential. Encourages students in two postsecondary institutions in Japan to use word processing more fully, but finds little improvement. Discusses the need…

Finds that college students were aware of, and understood the function of, some common design elements (boldface, italics, numbered lists) but were much less aware of other design elements (headers, indentation, and line spacing); and that perceptions of design elements correlated strongly with self-reported experience using word processing…

Advocates creating a business-communication course that combines writing instruction with computer instruction. Discusses contemporary students (their abilities, attitudes, and approaches to learning), pedagogy, course content, and institutional support systems. (SR)

Suggests the chief art of the teacher in the study of language and the chief goal of having children write compositions consists not just of giving them themes but presenting them with a large choice, pointing out the scope of the composition, and indicating initial steps. Discusses how the author "unexpectedly" came up with this method…

Over 18 weeks, nine female offenders worked in a collaborative learning circle with process-based writing (prewriting, drafting, sharing, revising, editing, proofreading, publishing). Most showed a significant increase in self-esteem. (SK)

Describes an interdisciplinary course which reenvisioned the writing requirement for engineering students: Engineering Design and Communication, an interdisciplinary, two-quarter, team-taught course that is project-based, team-based, and equally focused on design and communication (and team taught by engineering and writing program faculty).…

Discusses three reasons why the concept of writing across the curriculum (WAC) does not work, dealing with (1) writing assignments; (2) faculty not trained to teach writing; and (3) the fact that teaching writing takes more time than WAC allows. Argues for putting business writing back in its rightful place in the curriculum as a separate course.…

Discusses transformation from two different points of view regarding teaching children's writing. Consists of two main parts by the two authors. Presents in each writer's portion interspersed comments by the other writer reflecting the differences and the similarities in these two teachers' ongoing processes of personal and professional…

Describes a novel type of interactive writing called "interest journals" that motivates students and promotes persuasive writing. Discusses getting started, and the benefits of interest journals. (SR)