Shows how the Genre Teaching Methods from Australia can be adapted to literature study in secondary English classrooms. Finds that the genres of Narrating, Describing, Explaining, and Arguing can be used to analyze specific features of literature analysis--plot, character, setting, theme, and style. Finds that modeling texts and providing…

Offers short descriptions from 5 English teachers, each describing a book on the teaching of writing that they recommend to other English teachers. (SR)

Considers the teaching of grammar and its importance in the writing classroom. Examines what grammar is; why writing instruction has moved away from grammar; differing opinions regarding grammar and writing instruction; and grammar's place in the writing classroom of the new century. Argues that grammar must be applied to students' own writing.…

Presents two writing activities. Gives a brief description of an activity of personal reflection for composition students. Describes a composition classroom activity for writing effective introduction lead-ins. (SG)

Addresses the climate of disappointment that characterizes English studies generally and composition studies--particularly writing program administration (WPA). Considers that the context of disappointment is shaped by a number of overlapping factors including: the widely perceived job market collapse in the humanities; the national abuse of…

"English--a portrait of current practice" is one in a series of portraits by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE), depicting current practice in key aspects of the Scottish curriculum. The portrait series is a recent initiative by HMIE, flowing from the "Improving Scottish Education" report. It is intended to promote…

This article reports on a challenging and effective assignment on thinking in a discipline that the author gave during fall 2006 in his sophomore-level "Critical Reading, Thinking, and Writing" (CRTW) course at Winthrop University. Required of all students, the course follows Writing 101: Composition; and a multi-disciplinary course…

Working with first-year students at Purdue University, the author, a composition instructor, joined efforts with librarian Alexius Smith-Macklin to explore the efficacy of a collaborative approach to freshman writing instruction at the university level. Combining expertise from the Purdue programs of English education, theory and cultural studies,…

On the first day of English composition, students unleash a torrent of reasons why writing scared them as they write their opening day personal autobiographies. Most comments focus on reasons that have little to do with the craft or complexities of great writing. Numerous students bemoan their use of "substandard" English, thinking that their ways…

This article explores the literacy lives of students enrolled in English Composition courses at two open-admission universities in Central Appalachia and the complex role of immediate and extended family members as sponsors of literacy in these students' lives. Some relatives emerged as both sponsors and inhibitors-or perhaps more accurately,…

In our summer 2006 issue, we ran a comprehensive overview of how postmodernism has degraded composition on our campuses. Steve Kogan enlarges that indictment and charges that the movement has deliberately corrupted every area of English instruction--from the acquisition of skills and knowledge to the more fundamental mission of developing in…

Intended for teachers at all levels, but especially the junior high and high school levels, this book offers a rationale and practical ideas for teaching grammar not in isolation but in the context of writing. Chapters in the book are: (1) Grammar and the Teaching of Grammar: An Introduction; (2) Teaching Grammar: Reasons for, Evidence Against;…

When writing laboratories first opened over 30 years ago, only a few faculty members and administrators had a firm notion of what constituted a writing center, and these notions differed from campus to campus. The pioneers of the discipline had little beyond instinct and imagination to guide them--and a nagging notion that there is one true path…

This study was conducted to determine the effect of remedial instruction in English usage upon writing competence in a college business letter-writing course. It was hypothesized that remedial instruction in English usage would not affect an individual's letter-writing achievements. Subjects were 50 matched pairs (IQ, Freshman English, grade, age,…

Describes rewriting examples of good writing into "ordinary" writing, to identify what elements of style made the original version so effective. (HTH)