Writing for publication is not easy, but getting published is an essential part of professional development. Whether a novice or an experienced literacy writer, a K-12 teacher, or a university-level educator, writers will benefit from the insights in this book. The editors have organized the book into four sections that offer guidelines for: (1)…

The author explores problems in technical writing, the editor's role, and the author-editor relationship. He presents a list of basic writing rules to help the technical writer achieve success. These involve subject matter, deadlines, purpose, topic sentences, arrangement, clarity, idea development, examples, vocabulary, reading level, and…

Provides ways to use the standard functions of word processors to help students effectively edit on-screen "soft copy" as well as ways to counter the illusion of perfection caused by drafts printed on high-resolution laser printers with proportional fonts. (RS)

Offers a plan for developing student editing skills in the beginning technical writing class. Suggests guidelines that parallel the revision-oriented heuristics of such scholars as Michael Flanigan and Linda Flower. (FL)

Process-oriented writing, instead of training students to write for one audience (the teacher) and one purpose (a grade), allows students to generate ideas before they write, confer with peers as they write, and publish their papers after revising and editing them. In the Written Process Approach, the teachers act as coaches, cheerleaders, and…

States that, for most students, revision consists of making surface changes without questioning the corrections suggested by their editors. Suggests that a better way to think of revision is being "more like the growth of a seed than movement down a linear path." Emphasizes the need for revision to be a collaborative effort involving the…

Describes how writing instructors can aid students to become self-reflective, independent practitioners who can readily edit and proofread their own writing. Outlines numerous methods for dealing with error patterns. (HB)

Argues that proofreading should be viewed as a separate kind of writing and reading skill and that teachers of writing have not effectively trained their students how to perform this important task. Describes various strategies for teaching proofreading to students, including computer applications. (HB)

Explores implications of increased publication options and examines conceptual distinctions among Fixed-Format, Electronic, and Meta-media Editors. Proposes a keyboard editing/commenting technique that will work across platforms and software programs and in every mode of electronic communication including simple e-mail. Suggests an increased…

This article is based on an invited talk entitled "Getting Published While in Grad School," which was presented for the Graduate Student Council of the American Educational Research Association at the association's 2005 annual meeting. The authors discuss issues to consider when one is planning and writing a scholarly manuscript, and they offer…

In 2006-2007, we established a writing exercise in two large first-year biology courses. Overall, our exercise, which consisted of multiple drafts of a 500-word essay, offered students a good introduction to how editorial feedback can improve content and style in scientific writing. We discuss our goals, procedures, outcome, and students'…

Discusses how writing instruction can help students move from the expressive writing typical of first drafts to writing that can be presented to discriminating audiences. (MM)

Argues that emphasis on process has reduced the amount of time teachers spend teaching basic editing skills. Offers eight suggestions for incorporating instruction in punctuation into a process approach to writing. (MS)

Compares the number and type of implanted errors corrected by high school and college subjects working on two different texts under three different conditions. Finds that the biggest stumbling block in correcting errors was not the knowledge of how to correct them, but rather a failure to detect them. (RS)

Arguing that children need access to word processing to reap the same benefits as adult writers, a fourth-grade teacher convinced her administration to provide one computer per child during their writing workshop periods. Having portable word processors liberated student writers by making the mechanical aspects of writing easier. Students could…