Much has been written about the importance of giving personal attention to children's written work. The focus has been on the effect of this feedback on the writing and on the child. Drawing on the philosophical discourse of the care of the self, I argue that the ways in which a teacher gives feedback informs the development of the teacher.…

Discusses the balance needed between praise and encouragement and constructive criticism in critiquing the writing of older students. (DF)

Reprints a 1985 article from this journal describing how and why the author stopped "fixing" student papers. Updates the article with an Afterword commenting on the earlier piece. (SR)

Relates a teaching assistant's experience of assigning student journals in a first-year composition class. Discusses the assignment, responses to journal entries, discoveries, and dilemmas. Concludes that they are worthwhile. (SR)

Reexamines the author's 1984 essay "The Idea of a Writing Center." Revisits in particular three relationships: the tutor and the writer; the tutor and the teacher; and the tutor and the institution. (SR)

This instructional note describes the successful application and adaptation of teacher-student conference techniques as suggested by Donald M. Murray in his book "A Writer Teaches Writing." Athanasourelis states that while he believes that Murray overestimates students' abilities when he describes the conference process as "the working talk of…

Reprints a 1986 article from this journal in which the author reminisces about his first teaching encounter with bright, agreeable, but wary freshmen writers who taught him about half of everything he knows about composition instruction. Updates the article with an Afterword commenting on the earlier piece. (SR)

Examines nine of the most widely accepted tenants of composition theory to derive approaches for teaching business communication. Discusses grammar, correcting, positive feedback, evaluation and written comments, quality versus quantity, self-evaluation, reading, planning and prewriting, and active involvement. (SR)

Effective writing teachers act as models, coaches, assessors, planners and consultants when they establish common objectives and activities, build social bonds, and support students as they grow in their abilities. Managing five roles is very challenging for the writing teachers, but with patience and perseverance, they can help students to become…

Presents five children's writing samples and makes suggestions for working with each writer. Stresses the importance of meeting children where they are (regardless of how they compare with their peers), since that is the only place from which they can start. (SR)

Reprints a 1980 article from this journal which responds to another article from the same year in the same journal and which argues that a writing teacher's joy is to help students develop both a caring self and a skillful mind. Updates the article with an Afterword commenting on the earlier piece. (SR)

Discusses the dilemmas and the benefits, both academic and personal, involved in the personal essay writing class. Notes that students often pick painful topics to write about, and looks at research in trauma theory and cognitive psychology for information to help students move from a narrative that skims the top of their experience to images that…

Discusses the connection between editors and teachers. Describes the author's editor, who focuses on helping authors meet the expectations of gatekeepers. Discusses how professional writing teachers might use the author's editor as a teaching model (helping students write for actual audiences and teaching more about the text-production process),…

Argues that student self-assessment and reflection need to be central components of writing instruction and that the response sequence between teacher and student should routinely include them. Offers examples of this sequence with two students, and presents nine specific classroom strategies that put self-assessment and reflection at the center…

Describes connections between art forgers and assessment practices of student writing in schools. Ponders how students might be encouraged to work more like masters than forgers. Argues that teaching strategies for reflection brings authenticity and encourages reflection in students about their work. Discusses techniques students can use to…