This article examines two course redesigns undertaken to improve student support, learning, and retention in the basic writing program at Oakland University, a doctoral research university in southeast Michigan, where support for developmental writers has fluctuated dramatically between nurture and neglect over the past fifty years. However,…

Suggests an alternative to traditional revising for basic writers. Describes how "interrupted" writing assignments can reveal students' writing processes. (MM)

Argues that the kinds of problems Harvard "basic writers" have are different in degree, but not in kind, from problems of less accomplished student writers elsewhere, from problems all student writers have from time to time, and from the problems experienced adult writers confront in unfamiliar or difficult writing situations. (RS)

Notes that while informed teachers of writing have moved toward more dialogic approaches, they still have colonial tendencies when responding to student writing. Suggests an activity that invites students to talk back to the teacher-reader as a means of helping them move more effectively toward revision. (PA)

Summarizes Stephen Krashen's work on second language acquisition (involving the distinction between language acquisition and language learning). Discusses several techniques for teaching "Edited American English" in light of Krashen's theory, including error-based exercises and guided editing. Indicates which techniques help or impede…

Reviews research on revising as it relates to the case study of the revising processes of a basic writing student. Shares insights into the complexities of revising and suggests possibilities for more productive teacher response to student writing. (TB)

Describes instructional techniques, based on schema theory, which enable English as a second language (ESL) students to revise their writing to meet the expectations of English-speaking readers. Illustrates this approach by examining a Chinese-speaking student's first revision of an essay. (RS)