Argues that absentee coaching is a successful instructional method to improve journalism students' writing because it provides specific feedback, writers maintain control, it builds writers' confidence, and it develops reader awareness. Discusses putting it into practice, coaching and grading, and the advantages of coaching. (SR)

Describes the importance of metaphors in technical writing. Presents an explanation of metaphor from G. Lakoff and M. Johnson's "Metaphors We Live By." (SR)

Discusses briefly some ways professional writers create fine titles, using allusions, puns, rhyme, alliteration, and paradox. (SR)

In a writing-intensive course, 54 nursing students wrote professional letters and a professional-issues paper. In precourse self-evaluations, 42% rated their writing skills poor/fair; afterward only 14% did. Helpful strategies included stylistic coaching, multiple drafts, and rapid positive feedback. (SK)

Supplements existing rhetorical scholarship by returning to the notion of invention as general preparation of the communicator. Explores the need for invention in technical communication and summarizes Kenneth Burke's theories of dialectic and rhetoric. Presents strategies for invention, and offers advice for incorporating them into teaching…

Presents five beliefs about teaching writing that include (1) writing teachers should write well; and (2) writing workshops are the best place to learn both how to write and how to teach. Argues that the implements with which writers work, such as the pen and paper, have a direct effect on the quality of the writing. (NH)

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)…

Describes a seminar for sociologists designed to improve their writing skills. Explains that peer critiquing by seminar members led to healthy constructive criticism and provided a forum where writing was no longer an isolated experience. (BSR)

Notes that while compound nouns are the lexical trademark of many technical languages, their simple surface structure belies the complexities involved in their generation and comprehension. Suggests that by considering carefully these underlying complexities, technical writers can improve the readability of their texts. (HTH)

Argues that corporate style guides create consistency in documents, promote a professional image, train new employees, and define document generation. Describes how to develop a corporate style guide. (SR)

Examines the paradigm "the writer is self-contained," which underlies current writing practices in business and education. Discusses how creating a supportive climate for the writing process relates to the paradigm "every writer needs an editor." Discusses the implications of making such a change in business, industry, and education. (SR)

Describes the author's experience with a writing group at a summer institute. Reconstructs the writing group's process, describing the evolution of a poem about the death of his sister and the writing group's invaluable assistance in that history. (SR)

Argues, from the point of view of an undergraduate engineering student, that making the pass/fail grading system mandatory for college freshman composition students will help them achieve the goal of learning to write. (SR)

Explains and exemplifies terminal modifiers in the context of technical writing. Examines representative technical reports and finds that increased attention to terminal modifiers (especially the absolute, the summarizing appositive, and the nonparticipial adjective phrase) would significantly increase options for effective expression. (SR)

Provides 10 tips on things not to do when writing stories, including not believing any of the other 9 "don'ts." (SR)