Discusses three books on Zen and writing that (1) question assumptions of Western discourse and literacy practices; (2) offer ideas to help individual writers unearth their creative energy and potential; (3) advocate alternative discursive practices; (4) discuss possibilities of an embodied literacy predicated on kindness and compassion; and (5)…

Argues for using the metaphor of the contract as a principal strategy for teaching students how to craft introductions. (SR)

Relates evidence from a writing-across-the-curriculum program which repeatedly shows the writing conference to be a critical vehicle for communicating with students, serving not only to instruct students in writing but to further their thinking. (SR)

Advocates the use of commonplace books (a time-honored way for students to collect, analyze, and reflect on the writings, thoughts, and rhetorical strategies of others) as a means of teaching style integrated with other components of rhetoric. Argues that students become closer readers and critical thinkers about the nature of ideas and language…

Argues that it is time to return figurative language to the classroom. Claims teachers should teach writers more figures, regardless of the approach to composition instruction. (MS)

Offers a means for writers to analyze their own texts through the construction and use of a tool--called a reader's outline--that students build from their rough drafts. Notes that the reader's outline facilitates more effective detection and diagnosis of problems and helps point the way to solutions. (SR)

Discusses the field of legal writing instruction. Describes the rationale and design of a writing program for an underserved group of legal writers: trial court judges. Reviews the demands faced by judges as writers. (HB)

Suggests that work with the cumulative sentence can have an immediate and profound impact on student writing in the areas of grammar, organization, and specificity. Finds the use of the cumulative sentence helpful as a sentence-combining technique and for several other aspects of composition and grammar. (MS)

Discusses the dilemmas and the benefits, both academic and personal, involved in the personal essay writing class. Notes that students often pick painful topics to write about, and looks at research in trauma theory and cognitive psychology for information to help students move from a narrative that skims the top of their experience to images that…

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…

Argues for using and creating negative examples to teach writing. Includes ideas for the following areas: (1) the worst grammar; (2) terrible leads; (3) the worst possible article; (4) the awful two-page spread; and (5) rules for breaking the rules. (MS)

Describes the Advance College Project, a cooperative program between Indiana University and high schools in Indiana wherein selected high school teachers came to campus for summer seminars, high school students applied for specific courses in English composition or other areas, and public school and university officials worked out the…

Argues that effective responses to students' papers must have a clear sense of audience, must be sensitive to the writer's subject and rhetorical aims, and must consider the effect of the context on the writer. (MS)

Argues that writing teachers must create an organic curriculum with the language of home and community at its core. Suggests that writing teachers help students examine language features, dialects, and language attitudes in their communities. Notes that such student inquiry influences class discussions and can reshape attitudes toward students'…

Suggests that error analysis can be manageable for teachers and instructive for basic writers. Explains five critical principles of error analysis in basic writing: understand students' intentions; set consistent priorities; analyze for clarification of intentions; encourage students to set their own goals; and help students objectify their…