Considers what makes up the sensibilities and personal traits of a writer. Describes how one writer learned to express herself through a particular writing workshop. Outlines the reasons writers write and lists some tricks of the trade. (HB)

Describes the sensibilities and temperament that make a successful, daily writer. Questions why writers write. Attempts to define what it is that makes a writer write. (HB)

Describes one key goal of writing instruction as being to help students develop successful rituals in their writing processes. Compares two kinds of writers: Beethovians and Mozartians, or discoverers and planners. Relates these two groups to writing instruction, and suggests a combination as a third group. (HB)

Reports on the guidelines governing the formation and operation of affiliates of the National Council of Writing Program Administrators. (HB)

Describes the current offerings in the genre of multicultural fiction for adolescents. Justifies the use of multicultural novels in the classroom. Provides examples of novels that include characters representative of a multicultural society. (HB)

Provides an account of the recent right-wing backlash in the United States against trends in higher education. Traces the continuing "crisis in English" to historical origins of humanities as a sequestered enclave. Suggests that this conflict will largely determine the future of English instruction. (HB)

Outlines the contradictions inherent in the conservative agenda supporting both the traditional literary canon of instruction and an aggressive promotion of vocationalist modernization. Discusses the connections between these two initiatives and offers an example of a practical alternative to both. (HB)

Discusses the novel "Web of Dreams" by Virginia Andrews, a favorite among many secondary students. Considers the book as subject for secondary English study. Claims that the novel defies most teacherly prejudices about formula writing. Provides detailed criticism of the novel. (HB)

Discusses the issue of the use of nonfiction reading in the primary classroom. Looks at the way a group of children progress from asking questions, to knowing the facts, to becoming reasoning beings. Outlines the experiences of one teacher's attempt to help children take steps to discover information on pigs. (HB)

Considers the proper definition and function of essays as topic of English instruction and as preferred mode in which students are assigned writing tasks. Tries to "denaturalize" the essay by thinking about how it has come to occupy such an esteemed position and the meaning of such esteem. (HB)

Discusses ways in which literary theory supports and encourages innovative ways of looking at texts. Indicates evidence of cross-fertilization between theory and pedagogy. Argues that this should be fostered and encouraged. Provides numerous examples of how theory informs instruction constructively. (HB)

Presents an account of how one English teacher taught William Shakespeare's "Othello" through dramatics in a challenging way. Considers how teachers of drama might discuss props, stage directions, and the proper handling of Desdemona's handkerchief. Explains how teachers should try to take the plays from "page to stage." (HB)

Discusses films based on young adult novels and why they are often considered failures. Describes various films about young adults and their problems that have proven to be artistic successes. Gives close attention to film versions of S. E. Hinton's novels and of Robert Cormier's "The Chocolate War." (HB)

Describes the activities in a high school English class aimed at enhancing dictionary skills by compiling a student-written "slang" dictionary. Outlines the steps taken to accomplish the task. (HB)

Questions the death of the author and of authority and, by implication, the theoretical erasure of the authority that constitutes the student writers that teachers face in the classroom everyday. Proposes a dialogic model of authority that infuses authority with an "ethic of care." (HB)