Reviews trends in the teaching of grammar and composition and the impact of the Dartmouth Conference and the "New English" on the teaching of composition. (DD)

Looks at how writing instruction has progressed 25 years after Janet Emig and other scholars investigated the composing process of writing students and put forth the notion of process writing. Presents three teacher profiles that demonstrate the wide variety of classroom practice in writing instruction now in use. (TB)

Describes how one teacher links the study of British Victorian and twentieth-century war poets to the world of her students. (MG)

Presents a notebook or list of 20 ideas that could be used in the language arts classroom to further students' interest in literature and writing. Explains, for instance, how students might write a monologue about or to a character who is upsetting or dismaying them, or how students might collect 10 quotations describing a character. (TB)

Explains how teachers and students, using a computer and modem, can tap into computer networks to enhance writing experiences. Reviews the experience of one teacher and her students on three different networks: (1) America Online; (2) WorldClassroom; and (3) the Internet. (TB)

Describes the Athens Writing Project, how it began, and the role it has served and continues to serve. Discusses the issue of voice, and describes a reflective writing sequence used in the project. (SR)

A study of writing by high school seniors and first-year college students found that classroom conditions were a large factor in student improvement. Larger class sizes in high school and less time devoted strictly to writing were the chief detriments to improvement in the seniors' writing.

A high school teacher has created a more effective method of responding to students' papers by using the tools that are available in common word-processing programs and widely available technology. Assessment has become a powerful tool for instruction and student self-reflection as the response of most of the students is positive towards…

A community college teacher emphasizes the dynamic aspects of language correctness and helps his students understand that achieving correctness is not simply a matter of following a set of rules. His students write letters and speeches in which they demonstrate the relationships among language, power, purpose, and audience.

Students should be invited to write dramatic scripts rather than reporting or discussing. (JH)

Students can be taught to create vivid, colorful descriptions. To train their senses and sharpen their word choices and images, they can be asked to (1) list specific adjectives to describe such an image-producing word as "ocean," (2) substitute sharply-etched verbs for general ones in a given sentence, (3) record day-to-day observations in a…

Teachers should demonstrate to students that serious American poetry has always been in touch with social realities.

Much difficulty in teaching composition stems from the erroneous assumption that thought precedes writing. (JH)