Food writing, like cooking, offers control over at least a small slice of an otherwise refractory world. As practiced by writers so good that whether they can cook or not is beside the point, food writing is most often upbeat and nurturing, providing successes and triumphs--modest and major--for readers to feast on, with occasional glimpses of…

This essay identifies and illustrates a number of significant features that, in combination, make literary biography a distinct and recognizable genre. Among these are considerations of the various aspects of the composition of literary works, such as sources of inspiration, authors' motives and methods in transforming life into art, and…

Describes a method for teaching composition which develops students' intellectual and literary skills. (RB)

Describes three language-related assignments for advanced composition which focus on politics and the English language, symbols and dictionaries, and language as a combination of interpretive and manipulative devices using the techniques of new journalism. (HOD)

Examination of the different types of courses and course materials can help identify the parameters and configurations of advanced composition. While usually referring to nonfiction writing, courses labeled "advanced composition" range from expository and narrative nonfiction through fiction and poetry. They also include legal and…

Suggests that students need to become aware of the relationship between one's writing and one's intended audience and presents a way for students to make this analysis. (JM)

Addresses interrelated sets of ethical considerations: the ethical principles for representing students and student writing in the teacher's own publications of two types--in textbooks designed for student use, and in research publications and conference presentations designed for the author's peers. Lists 10 points to make clear to students whose…

Presents a method that enables students to become aware of nonverbal communication and to incorporate it into their descriptive writing. (TJ)

The purpose of a semester course for journalism and creative writing students at Washington University was to help students, through reading and writing portraits in "new journalese," become capable critics of new journalistic writing. Students first were introduced to the techniques of new journalism in Tom Wolfe's book on new journalism and in…

This study investigates the relationship between college students' learning of grammar and mechanics and their ability to compose. A random sample of students enrolled in the University of New Mexico's freshman English program was tested during three semesters. Several questions were addressed: Were the courses doing what they purported to do?…

To speak, write, and react to language with awareness is to live at least somewhat more fully than to be oblivious to the manifold nuances and potentialities of language. With this idea in mind, the rationales, strategies, and implications of three language-related assignments for advanced composition are presented. The first assignment asks…

This paper points out that students who earn a Ph.D. in English in a conventional literary curriculum are often totally ignorant of linguistics, rhetoric, and current research in the teaching and learning of composition. Yet such knowledge is invaluable for many reasons. Graduate students can become more accurate critics of their own writing, if…

Teaching college writing students to edit the autobiographical writing of others has many advantages. Autobiographical materials, such as diaries, letters, or journals, are physically and psychologically accessible for students, and as editors they would be obliged to keep in mind appropriateness of language, tone, and simplicity or complexity of…

Case studies of the writing habits exhibited by anxious and nonanxious writers in workshops to reduce writing apprehension and in regular literature/composition classes have revealed how certain aspects of the composing processes of anxious writers differed from those of nonanxious writers. Some of the common problems were the lack of structured…

The process paradigm for teaching writing has been the dominant curricular model for the past 20 years, but by anatomizing various dimensions of this paradigm, it becomes clear why it, like any other paradigmatic model, will not last forever. To be adopted and become normative, any new paradigm has to appeal to salient features of the prevailing…