Describes a method for using the press release to introduce basic technical writing principles and increase students' writing confidence. Includes lecture format and writing assignment. (HTH)

To learn more about the impact of word processing on the writing of college freshmen, a 2-year study involving 320 students of average writing ability investigated whether (1) students using word processors write significantly better than those who do not; (2) manipulating and improving sentences on a screen affects students' awareness of grammar,…

The William Perry model of learning is directly parallel to what has been learned about writing processes. He observed that the student is essentially a dualist who sees everything as right or wrong. This stance of absolute acceptance wavers when the student encounters varieties of or disagreements among truths, thus gradually evolving into the…

Imaging, or disciplined daydreaming, can be used in the composition class to expose students to their innate creativity, lessen writing anxiety, refresh memories before writing of personal experiences, and make impersonal subjects, such as historical events, vital and personal. Teachers can construct a classroom imaging session (which takes about…

A case study approach was used to explore the sources of negative attitudes toward writing of three unskilled college freshman writers. The studies included interviews both with the students concerning their writing histories and with their former high school English teachers. In addition, information was gathered about their verbal abilities and…

Outlines a multistep writing program in which English as a second language students participate in the writing process and relate to their fellow writers (classmates and teachers) in various ways, using journals, learning logs, and essays. The extent to which activities increase writing proficiency and reduce students' writing apprehension is…

Provides advice for constructing an activity log directing students in writing a sociology term paper. Includes topic selection, outline, critical thinking, information gathering, analysis of findings, and completing a semifinal draft. Recommends that each step have a firm due date to reduce procrastination. Suggests that sequencing activities…

This document consists of six issues of a newsletter that provides a forum for the sharing of research findings and instructional strategies by faculty of Western Michigan University. Issue Number 1 addresses writing in the Writing Across the Curriculum Program with notification of a faculty workshop, hints on how to encourage good writing, and a…

Although student writers will accept evaluation more readily from their peers than from their instructors, beginning writers in particular hesitate to offer suggestions to another writer because they do not want to hurt their fellow students' feelings, and because they do not feel they know enough to evaluate someone else's work. The collaborative…

When students have difficulty writing, it is often because they are apathetic or afraid of failing, rather than because of a serious lack of skill. Basic writing teachers must break through student apathy and fear before the students can begin to progress. One way is to ask basic writers to unscramble sentences or analyze ambiguous sentences to…

Noting that the problem of writer's block is often rooted in such cognitive difficulties as rigid or inappropriate composing rules and planning strategies, this study approaches writer's block as a measurable problem that can be analyzed and remedied. The introductory chapter defines writer's block and pertinent terms, discusses a cognitive model…

Useful for writing teachers at all levels, this monograph explores the nature of writing apprehension and presents nonthreatening teaching and evaluation methods. The first section of the booklet examines theory and research on writing anxiety and its effects, along with some teaching behaviors likely to aggravate the problem. The second section…

The articles in this journal issue examine the characteristics of student writing apprehension, and teaching methods to alleviate it. The titles of the articles and their authors are as follows: (1) "Writing Anxiety: Reasons and Reduction Techniques" (Helen R. Heaton and Pauline M. Pray); (2) "Writing Anxiety and the Gifted Student…

Once its source has been identified using the multidimensional model developed by D. W. Stacks, R. W. Boozer, and T. D. P. Lally, writing apprehension, especially among business writing students, can be treated in the classroom with specific pedagogical techniques. Emphasizing the writing process rather than the product--stressing peer and teacher…

Theoretical and practical guidance is provided to anyone involved in teaching, curriculum development, or program planning for writing instruction for adult students. A broad range of situations in which adults learn to write are explored. Three parts include 13 chapters on the following topics: (1) understanding the distinctiveness of adult…