Reprints a 1986 article from this journal which discusses the mission and goals of the Center for the Study of Writing. Updates the article with an Afterword commenting on the earlier piece. (SR)

Presented are tips for writing effectively about geographical issues in popular publications. Geographers should present ideas clearly and logically, write lively summaries of geographical research, include people in the article, use humor, and use the best forms of graphic presentation. (RM)

Traces the writing problems of visual thinkers to three factors: a lack of words, the unimportance of sequence, and the presumption of context. Pleads for better understanding of the thinking processes that produce such writing problems and the development of new ways of teaching writing that directly address visual thinkers. (SR)

Explores what it means to think visually and spatially in hypertexts and how users react and maneuver in real and virtual three-dimensional spaces. Offers four principles of visual thinking that can be applied when developing hypertexts. Applies these principles to actual hypertexts, demonstrating how selectivity, fixation, depth discernment, and…

The punctuation system presented in this paper has explanatory power insofar as it explains how good writers punctuate. The paper notes that good writers have learned, through reading, the differences among a hierarchy of marks and acquired a sense of independent clauses that allows them to use the hierarchy, along with a reader-sensitive notion…

Argues that literacy professionals, in schools as well as colleges and universities, need to write for the general public, and that if they do not, they are contributing to an educational crisis of unprecedented proportions. Provides suggestions on and examples of how to write for the general public. (SR)

Describes using meditation to write with greater concentration, continuity, and depth, at any level of writing skill. Describes how to consciously cultivate the ability to focus, follow, and trace ideas through writing. (SR)

Reprints a 1987 article from this journal which warns against the pernicious effects of packaged, simplistic, approaches to inservice teacher education programs for the teaching of writing, sold as "like the Writing Project." Updates the article with an Afterword commenting on the earlier piece. (SR)

Criticizes the focus among some educators upon the writing process. Notes that all writers do not follow the same process and that teaching students otherwise oversimplifies writing instruction and diminishes efforts to improve it. Explains a "scaffolding" approach which involves outlining of increments in a writing process without…

The National Writing Project's (NWP's) mission is to improve writing and learning in the nation's schools. Through its professional development model, the NWP recognizes the primary importance of teacher knowledge, expertise, and leadership. In 2001, the project sponsored over 5,500 professional development programs through its local sites. In…

Discusses five writing exercises to improve teachers' and students' writing. Suggests using the exercises once a day. (RS)

Many of the best nonfiction writers violate punctuation rules frequently enough to indicate that the rules neither tell very well what to do nor inform very accurately about what is done. An examination of 18 prominent authors' use of the entire hierarchy of punctuation marks shows disagreement and inconsistency among the writers concerning…

Revision is the heart of the composing process--the means by which ideas emerge and evolve and meanings are clarified. Yet students often see revision not as an opportunity to develop and improve a piece of writing but as an indication that they have failed to do it right the first time. Revision, whether done with computers or with pen and paper,…

As a tool for composition classes, practice in letter writing can help create a community of discourse. Many issues can be touched on in a discussion on the role of letters in society: the value of letters to historians and biographers; note passing in elementary and secondary school; personal use; letter columns in the newspapers and magazines;…

Noting that composition teachers would like computers in order to facilitate the mechanics of writing, analyze text, and correct problems, this paper argues that classroom computer applications are limited because computers cannot analyze text the way a reader would. The paper first posits that readers look at text in terms of semantics and…