Claims some technical professionals assigned to write reports or manuals interpret writing as a means of displaying data rather than as communication. Discusses specific weaknesses commonly found in such documents. Suggests that texts should convey precisely what is intended in a form readers will find acceptable. (NH)

Describes how a writing teacher uses an exit essay in which students describe the strengths and weaknesses of their writing to examine how the course has shaped (or not shaped) student attitudes toward writing. (SR)

Presents a poem inspired by the experience of a course in language across the curriculum for teachers in training in which students were offered the opportunity to take risks with their writing, to "bungee-jump" with pen and paper. (SR)

Presents an interview with Mike Rose. Explains the source of Rose's interest in the cognitive dimension of writing and how it affects his teaching particularly and classroom instruction generally. Discusses writer's block in terms of cognition. (NH)

Presents a transcript of a panel discussion at Colgate University in which people in various professions spoke about their writing experiences in school and on the job. Notes that these stories told by professionals about their writing experiences can be seen as part of an institutional history and part of a disciplinary history. (RS)

Presents the author's (she is a well known poet, essayist, and fiction writer) 10 commandments of writing that portray writing as a moral force, an ethical practice, and also mundane plain and simple hard work. The commandments are in the form of quotes from famous writers. (SR)

Offers a dialog between two writers, showing the mutual struggle with writing issues, many of them distinct to women, concerning such things as bodies, definitions of revision, and exploring purpose. (TB)

Describes how a veteran writer and English teacher who only recently began writing poetry encourages others to invigorate their teaching by taking up a new writing genre. Details the lessons he has learned from poetry and passed on to his own students. Outlines six problems he encountered and presents solutions for each. (SG)

By drawing upon numerous real-world experiences with reluctant writers, the author illustrates how tapping their interests can lead to improved writing skills and attitudes toward writing. The critical link between identity and writing is emphasized. Though the experiences in this article are drawn from the author's work with basic writers at the…

The attribution of low literacy levels among Gypsy children to difficulties of access to schools neglects underlying sociocultural explanations. There has been little analysis in reports/studies of Gypsy attitudes toward literacy, nor of outcomes of acquisition. Informed by new literacy theory and by the discourse of previous ethnographic studies,…

This study examines young children's attitudes toward reading and writing as it relates to the literacy environment in which they had been enrolled. Children (N = 201) attending magnet schools (schools established to address desegregation mandates) in a large urban, midwestern school district were given a reading and writing attitude survey the…

Meditation is the practice of becoming still--training the mind to slow down. Researchers have acknowledged the "technical" relationship between meditation and writing. Meditation can become part of the writing process, particularly for those who experience writing apprehension, often expressed as procrastination or writer's block.…

Make writing less of a task and more of an adventure through this creative and imaginative collection of writing prompts, targeted at grade levels 2 to 5. It provides not only ideas and inspiration, but also motivation. This book includes: (1) Story Headers: single pictures with story titles that kids write about; (2) Every Picture Tells a Story:…

Notes scholars in composition studies have begun to question the issues of writing in academic discourse communities. Explains college students (particularly basic writers and English-as-a-second-language writers) are only beginning to find acceptable spaces for their alternative writing styles in academia. Concludes if hybrid discourse were…

Talks about the "writing from the heart" practiced in one sixth-grade classroom by students and teacher, for many different purposes. Describes instructional approaches that encourage such writing. (SR)