After several years in academic public relations, a professional writer returned to teaching composition. After her first attendance at the annual meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, she experienced a turning point in her view of "the essay." Following the conference, she changed her assignments from…

In 1972 Ernest Bormann and his students were in the process of developing and applying what was later called "fantasy theme analysis" to various kinds of communication including the political campaign communication of 1972. Fantasy theme methodology ultimately developed into "Symbolic Convergence Theory," which has generated a…

Discusses research on the role of audience awareness in writing and human cognition, arguing that developmental writers exhibit egocentric tendencies and assume that the readers do not need elaboration or transitions. Describes four subskills of audience awareness: clear execution, adequate content, perspective differentiation, and role taking.…

Endorses the position that fabricated discourse presented as nonfictional in nature is a model of ordinary talk, which is relied upon to convince an audience of its verisimilitude. The purpose of the article is to document the strategies used in a puppet show, "The Sooty Show," and to demonstrate their effectiveness in generating a sense…

Puts forth a plan for raising student consciousness about audience through peer evaluation sessions. Targets three areas of effective autobiographical writing: an engaging opening; focus; and showing, not telling. Discusses grading rubrics for these categories appropriate for student readers. (TB)

Describes the author's experience in writing and directing a staged reading of "Ties That Bind" at the 2002 Academy of Management Meetings in Denver as an all-academy symposium. Presents an epistemology that includes knowing in your gut and knowing in your head. Hopes to facilitate a move within the audience from being a feeling but passive…

Hyperfluency, defined as discourse that is inappropriate and incompetent in the target audience's estimation, and its relationship to composition pedagogy are discussed. It is argued that hyperfluency can signal the growth of an individual's linguistic resources. (16 references) (Author/LB)

Describes the complex and sometimes conflicting components involved in reading assessment issues and proposes a solution that involves linkages among assessment audiences and approaches. Concludes with remarks about how school districts might pull together all the pieces and solve the assessment puzzle for themselves. (PRA)

Presents a transcript of an interview with successful young adult author Jerry Spinelli. Describes the techniques and writing strategies used by Spinelli. Discusses ways of generating stories, and the author's concept of his audience. (HB)

Comments on the interview of bell hooks in the preceding issue of the "Journal of Advanced Composition." Comments on hooks's concepts of audience and power, race relations, multicultural education, and the politics of literacy. (HB)

Suggests guidelines for observing young children's developing control over their thinking and text-making knowledge. Presents evidence of distinct, observable differences between at-risk and non-at-risk preschoolers' knowledge of what a literary piece should be and how to monitor the product to make sure it meets an audience's needs. Discusses…

Provides analysis of the various kinds of audiences for whom technical materials are written. Describes the functions of the "watchdog" audience, who oversees the written transaction between the author and primary audience. Provides data from an ethnographic case study of engineering authors in a technical setting. (HB)

Considers how readers form impressions of writers' personalities while reading their texts. Reports on a series of studies which asked readers to respond to college application essays by high school students. Concludes that responses to texts concerning personality are highly predictable and, thus, can be influenced by the writer. (HB)

Argues that writing center staff and teachers working with international students must keep an open mind, hold back on their own assumptions, listen very carefully, and work with students to help them understand North American audience expectations and build their confidence as writers. Includes several stories of negotiating cultural and…

This paper discusses the emergent perspective in composition studies that sees discourse forms as producing material effects and writing classrooms and programs as part of an apparatus for producing subjective forms, which individual students are then induced to inhabit. The paper suggests that the closed circuit of the classroom is overdetermined…