Noting that Oregon has been a pioneer in developing assessments which require actual student writing, this booklet includes a collection of student essays and shows how they were evaluated by teachers. The sample essays in the booklet are useful in staff development activities and may also be shared with students, serving as models to help…

Noting that Oregon has been a pioneer in developing assessments which require actual student writing, this booklet includes a collection of student essays and shows how they were evaluated by teachers. The sample essays in the booklet are useful in staff development activities and may also be shared with students, serving as models to help…

This paper examines children's preferences and understanding of stories and story elements by analyzing an extensive collection of art, writing, and teacher observations of one child, Virginia. The paper traces the progession of Virginia's understanding of character, setting, action/plot, and preference for fairy tale structures as evidenced in…

Arguing that parents can make a big difference, this six-panel leaflet presents simple and fun strategies parents can use to help their children learn to write well. The leaflet points out that children should have a good place to write, the proper materials, sufficient time, and response and praise from their parents. Strategies discussed in the…

The teaching of broadcast copywriting can be enhanced by computer assisted instruction, especially in screening students' writing for adherence to classic "formulas" or "rules" for broadcast writing. Such rules might include avoiding cliches or not beginning a sentence with a subordinate clause. Other rules the computer can…

The relationship between writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) programs and the first-year writing program has always been a delicate one. Although some WAC requirements have been formalized, faculty participation in programs is still largely voluntary. At Cornell University (New York), for example, teachers must require at least 6 and no more than…

This paper advocates a pragmatist approach to teaching the composition of academic discourse. It discusses teaching directly the conflicting positions of academic discourse as elitist jargon or as key to advanced conceptualization. The suggested pedagogical method involves the examination of academic discourse in general, and the procedure of…

Describing the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education (SERVE) program and its mission to promote and support the continual improvement of educational opportunities for all learners in the Southeast, this paper focuses on the importance of improving student literacy outcomes in schools due to the demands of living in a technological,…

Parents can help their children become better writers by reinforcing the importance of writing and by giving children plenty of opportunities to write. Twenty-three specific suggestions for improving children's writing at home are listed. (PP)

Presents an overview of Disk Operating System (DOS)-based computer-supported collaborative work group writing tools. Suggests a framework to classify group writing tools. (RS)

Describes the liberal arts curriculum at Albany College of Pharmacy, New York. Reports that the curriculum reflects the college's philosophy that students must learn to think by writing. Notes that teaching writing as a skill, a process, and a liberal art is a recent addition to the humanities core courses. (RS)

Argues that literature can be valuable in the technical writing class, focusing students' attention by: (1) providing useful models for students; and (2) allowing students to see how language operates in representations of particular organizations or cultures. (MG)

This article provides advice from editors of alumni magazines on how to improve such periodicals: (1) get better writers; (2) improve content; (3) improve design quality; (4) multiply good ideas; (5) make the most of photographs; (6) achieve savings in design; (7) get a bigger budget; and (8) manage magazine staff. (MDM)

This article provides specific recommendations for teaching students with learning disabilities how to use a story grammar cueing system for improving writing. The article emphasizes the importance of individualizing instruction and teaching for generalization, and discusses the purpose of the system and methods of assessment. (JDD)

This article about the poor writing of many students with learning disabilities suggests that a major cause is inadequate instruction and presents three principles of writing instruction: (1) frequent and meaningful writing; (2) developing, embellishing, and refining; and (3) a warm and supportive environment. (DB)