Explains a writing assignment called "occasional paper," a brief written reflection that is read aloud and discussed but not turned in. Notes that it is important that these papers be easy to write. Contends that since adolescents experience nearly everything as personal, the occasional paper offers them an entry into thinking that is abstract and…

Presents a simple writing assignment, composing an anthology, in which students have some control over their learning and gain confidence, enabling them to approach class discussions with more personal involvement and leading them to find more for themselves in poetry. (RAE)

Suggests that the key to making research writing something students are eager to learn is the instructor's enthusiasm and skill in gathering irresistible ideas and prompts to pique students' curiosity. Presents seven steps to help students write research papers. (RS)

Describes Ken Macrorie's I-Search paper system as an alternative to the traditional research paper. Explains the process of creating an I-Search paper step by step. Emphasizes the importance of the editing process. Concludes with a list of steps to become a writer, and the importance of acknowledging that an I-Search paper is a team effort. (PA)

Describes how generating effective advertising copy affords students practice in aspects of persuasive writing, such as developing a thesis, refuting counter-arguments, and writing in a comparison-contrast mode. Notes that this approach helps students negotiate the problematic shift from expressive to persuasive discourse without losing their…

Describes four essay assignments in a sequence on experts that deal with sharing expertise, defining expertise, interviewing an expert, and seeing teachers as experts. Asserts that these assignments result in writing that is no longer the recapitulation of information received from experts but is communication notable for the quality of its…

Describes a qualitative study of the practices of 12 teachers as they used writing activities in the classrooms. Presents examples of integration of writing and subject matter. (SR)

Discusses 10 brief lessons using the daily newspaper that can add a variety of interesting and worthwhile activities to the English classroom. (RS)

Reviews and critiques a new writing textbook by LaRene Despain: "Writing: A Workshop Approach." Considers especially the types of writing assignments advocated and the kinds of skills needed for researched argumentative essays. (HB)

Discusses the importance of a good caption for action/reaction photographs in newspapers and yearbooks. Describes how to write a caption; gives sample captions; discusses the four parts of a good caption; and presents a caption-writing assignment, complete with pictures. (SR)

Describes how the author and her high school English students begin their study of Thoreau's "Walden" by mining the text for quotations to inspire their own writing and discussion on the topic, "How does Thoreau speak to you or how could he speak to someone you know?" (SR)

Writing needs to be given adequate emphasis in the area of social studies. Teachers should attempt to be creative and to assign different kinds of writing in their classes. This paper discusses possible activities for students in a unit on the Middle East to illustrate diverse purposes in writing. An initial assignment could be to ask students to…

This document provides a rationale (theory) and some models (application) to help secondary teachers develop their own "guided assignments"--road maps which offer young readers structured assistance in reading literature. The guide's first section provides a theoretical framework and blueprint for guided assignments. It begins by…

Teaching suggestions and questions on which to build a class discussion are presented regarding concrete poetry. An example of a poem about a bird's feather in which the words are arranged in the shape of a feather is included and is intended as a student handout. In addition to suggestions for student assignments, five sources of concrete poetry…

The purpose of this article is to discuss five different approaches to teaching literature. (RC)