Offers a writing exercise intended for college English classes, which offers a hypothetical case to be considered (along with directions for papers and additional leads) that prompts students to consider ceremonial uses of language (such as the "Pledge of Allegiance") and various issues related to it. (SR)

Because Robert Lowell's poem "Hawthorne" focuses on Puritan New England, both as a setting and a subject, and shows the dark side of human nature, and Hawthorne as the alienated artist with a definite place in American literature, it is a most appropriate conclusion for a teaching unit on Hawthorne.

Suggests that using Francis Christensen's method of analyzing paragraphs can help students improve their own paragraph development. (TJ)

Suggests writing exercises which involve composing the solution to a mystery. (JM)

Describes rewriting examples of good writing into "ordinary" writing, to identify what elements of style made the original version so effective. (HTH)

Describes a writing exercise and discussion to help students broaden their concept of what constitutes comedy so that they may better appreciate Moliere's "The Misanthrope." (HTH)

Suggests putting student writers in touch with publishing nonfiction writers by having them write critiques of an author's article, then sending the critique to the author for his or her response. (HTH)

Describes an assignment in which students locate, read, assess, and discuss critical articles about the works of literature they are studying. Points to many benefits of the assignment, including its positive effects on students' library research skills. (TJ)

Suggests using a puzzle with a frame to demonstrate to students the value of an introduction and an outline in writing. (TJ)

Provides three exercises to help students appreciate the power and control symbols have, and learn that words have different meanings for different persons. (TJ)

Suggests the use of a hunt-a-word puzzle as a test of students' knowledge of Middle English words in the prologue of "The Canterbury Tales." Includes the puzzle questions, answers, puzzle grid, and answer grid. (TJ)

Summarizes a method for teaching composition that allows for practice in straight composition, the opportunity for self-expression, and the getting of feedback by asking students to write a paragraph in response to a specific question about the text for the week and a second paragraph of reaction to the text. (TJ)

Suggests using the game "Twenty Questions" to teach the basic processes of classifying, sequencing, and questioning that are fundamental to heuristic procedures. (TJ)

Presents an approach to discussion of Shakespearean sonnets, in which a group of students makes a presentation to the class and two empty chairs. Notes that, after the presentation, members of the larger group can take one of the empty seats and offer evidence or questions to the "experts," producing a lively and focused group…

Describes a writing assignment in which students read only the first two paragraphs of Charles Dickens's novel "A Tale of Two Cities" and then, after some brainstorming and prewriting, write a paragraph or two modeled on those, explaining the confusion and turmoil of the present day. Notes how Dickens's expressions become more familiar…