Describes the goals of the New Standards Project, and the first Writing Calibration Workshop at the Sagamore on Lake George in New York. Asserts that the workshop experiment shows that there is enough agreement among English teachers to consider developing a system of common standards that does not depend upon a single examination. (PRA)

Discusses some of the characteristics of the English language and also some of the pitfalls. Provides a list of writers' tips that are geared toward improving various aspects of writing. (HB)

Discusses the field of legal writing instruction. Describes the rationale and design of a writing program for an underserved group of legal writers: trial court judges. Reviews the demands faced by judges as writers. (HB)

Considers the tremendous growth in writing across the curriculum programs nationwide and the recent questions about the feasibility of such programs. Suggests weaving WAC programs into the existing cultural context of institutions. Analyzes one way this has been achieved at Robert Morris College. (HB)

Alleges that creative writing can be taught and should be an important "writing" course in undergraduate writing programs. Argues for an enlarged professional approach to teaching creative writing. Challenges those who define curricula to consider the place it has in the development of young (meaning undergraduate) writers. (NH)

Argues that in no other course can students get such a varied knowledge base combined with practical experience as in scholastic journalism. Discusses how students learn writing, technological, and business skills; are well prepared for standardized testing; and receive character education. (SR)

Discusses pitfalls authors can avoid in their research to improve their chances for publication: careless writing; unspecified assumptions; undefined context; unanswerable questions; soft and/or fuzzy hypotheses; vague, undefined terms; inadequate samples; inappropriate use of students in conducting research; inappropriate conclusions; multiple…

Focuses on two endeavors to improve basic writing: the statement on writing assessment adopted by the Conference on College Composition and Communication and the reauthorization of Chapter 1 funds of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to support educational remediation. (RS)

Discusses the use of the verb "said"--the verb of neutrality--and states that it is a good writer's trusted literary companion. Cites various examples of its use in promoting objectivity in stories, and offers advice from grammar writers as to using "said" effectively. (PA)

Notes that finding a way to integrate grading and responding in a manner that promotes learning through revision is one major challenge for composition instructors. Argues that instructors must find a way to shape their classrooms shifting the emphasis from "getting it right the first time," to learning to see writing as an activity that evolves…

According to this book, writing is a process of "uneducation," rather than education. The book cites the secret of creativity as subtracting rules for writing, not adding them. Most people are baffled at how to teach this, since teaching and "uneducation" appear contradictory--but experience in Zen meditation, which is…

Many English handbooks and "grammars" fail to offer sound advice to writers about matters of exactness in diction and precision in sentence structure. A gap between linguists and English teachers, the literary bias of most graduate departments of English, and a national obsession with the all-powerful capabilities of common sense, have…

Dramatic texts are an ideal pedagogical tool for clarifying certain aspects of communication such as authorial stance, point of view, role, persona, impersonation, ethos, shared communal values, cultural assumptions, genre expectations, audience, performance, dialogue, and enactment. Using dramatic texts in a composition class can broaden student…

In developing teaching strategies for students who are poor writers but good readers, it is useful to explore the characteristics of good readers and of poor writers, and to consider implications for improving classroom practices. Good readers tend to put into practice four major cognitive strategies when they read: they plan, translate or…

Provides a condensed refresher course in improved proposal writing. Focuses on the following points that are applicable to a range of documents: (1) be persuasive; (2) be logical; (3) control the presentation; (4) review the presentation; (5) make a final evaluation and revise accordingly. (JD)