Reflecting the view that a single formula for revolutionizing the teaching of writing is unavailable, this publication of the New York State English Council presents a series of articles dealing with various topics in the teaching of composition in high school and college settings. Subjects discussed include the following: the use of fables in the…

This paper describes a year-long, college senior composition course based on nature writing and open to students from all content areas. Nature writing is defined as writing about nature with the specific requirement that the writer must remain true to the objective facts of nature while at the same time presenting the human response to, and the…

Clarity in communication is important for workers in the General Accounting Office since much of the auditing work must be committed to paper if Congress, government officials and employees, or the public are to benefit. As a result an extensive writing improvement program was launched and this booklet written. Part 1 covers basic communication…

Suggests the importance of George Orwell's "1984" for today's students and recommends specific analytic and descriptive writing activities to develop critical reading skills. (MM)

An activity unit for teaching students to identify and use imagery in writing is presented. Instructions to the teacher for introducing the unit are given along with a list of student objectives and definitions of imagery terms. The activities, some of which involve using locally available audiovisual media, include four introductory activities,…

Group activities in the classroom can be a useful way to explore various standard rhetorical patterns. For descriptive writing, students can select and write about unsigned collages made by classmates. The writer can try to find a unifying theme that characterizes the artist's personality. A narrative component can be added to descriptive writing…

The purpose of the proposed study was to examine relationships between instructional characteristics in required high school composition classrooms and quality of writing in one of the four domains included in the curriculum, the imaginative/narrative domain. Questionnaire data were collected on objectives, writing activities, and specific writing…

Designed to develop students' abilities to follow directions and organize and write their thoughts, this junior high level activity involves students in creating a dream person using magazine or catalog pictures and then writing a biography of this person. Materials include teacher notes, follow-up suggestions, evaluation procedure, and a…

Aimed at elementary school teachers interested in promoting their students' enjoyment of and skill in writing, this guide offers a number of ideas for writing activities. The guide focuses on the creative use of language and suggests ways in which students can be stimulated to write poems and stories, create metaphors, write descriptions of people…

Placing a major emphasis on writing activity, this guide provides information and suggestions for implementing the Writing Process Curriculum in secondary schools. Following sections on the philosophy, aim, goals, and objectives of the Writing Process Curriculum, the guide outlines the stages of writing in the third section, including descriptions…

Intended for high school composition instructors, this book resolves the seeming contradiction between creative, expressive writing and formal exposition and argumentation by presenting a teaching method that treats creative writing as a necessary--if not sufficient--cause for exposition. The first two chapters describe a sequence of short fiction…

This curriculum guide is designed to aid in the planning and execution of a writing course for verbally gifted elementary school students. The course is designed for students ranging in age from 8-11 years whose verbal reasoning skills are at least 3 years above grade level. The course instructs students in the fundamentals of communication…

Social studies and language arts teachers can use these self-contained activities to teach writing skills to students in grades 6-12. Some of the activities have a global approach requiring students to write about topics such as human rights and cultural differences. Information provided for each activity includes an introduction, objectives, time…

This collection focuses on writing exercises, both expository and creative, as well as areas of adjacent concern. The book is divided into nine major sections: prewriting; diction; theme, thesis, and paragraph; style; ideas for whole papers and special topics; description; research; the short story; and rewriting. The exercises deal with such…

The study examined 41 students (24 male, 17 female) in a beginning writing course for adults. Data were collected by (1) taping four workshop sessions in which all students participated in small groups, (2) interviewing all the students, and (3) observing four students writing in the classroom. The adult writers composed in two models: the…