Describes a philosophy course with an expanded writing component. Includes samples of writing assignments. (HTH)

Outlines a technique for improving student writing across the disciplines through postwriting evaluation sessions. (FL)

A writing class that includes individuals from different disciplines can allow its members to gain a useful perspective on what people do, study, and stand for in the world outside the writing class. There are three assignments that can be particularly useful to explain the view of writing as an extra-disciplinary activity: (1) studying a prose…

Suggests linking technical writing assignments to library research in students' fields to build on students' immediate concerns and to reinforce the practical nature of technical writing. Includes two such assignments: the comparative analysis and the user's guide for a specific reference work. (HTH)

Free writing--writing without concern about spelling, grammar, and punctuation--provides students with opportunities to practice without being judged. Some free writing activities are described that allow teachers of subjects other than English to improve their students' writing skills without sacrificing time for their own subject. (JMD)

Describes a study of the relationship between the ability to write about mathematical concepts and the mathematical achievement of 70 developmental mathematics students at Georgia State University. Subjects used writing exercises as an adjunct to traditional instructional methods. Students who could write about the concepts were able to use them…

The latest perceptions of writer-audience relationships have not been applied to what teachers actually do in the classroom. When the idea of audience is applied at all, it is often misapplied, resulting in classroom activities that fail to facilitate learning and many, in some cases, that force students to perform tasks so unreal that credibility…

Integrating reading theory and instructional techniques into the composition classroom helps students improve both their reading and writing skills. Students should be evaluated early by combining diagnostic samples of their reading and writing to determine their ability to recognize organizational relationships and their facility with reading…

Discusses how to teach a first-year composition course, expository writing, required of most students at Rensselaer Polytechnic. Considers how to motivate students and help them to see connections between writing and their technical work. Offers various techniques for getting the students to write comfortably. (PA)

In the traditional classroom, written reports assigned to students are generally returned as poorly written, reworded collections of facts taken from single sources. Cross-curriculum writing is a way of circumventing this and encouraging learning and thought development by the student. Writing is usually considered a communication skill, but…

Several ideas for implementing writing in the content areas are presented. The ideas, which were submitted by teachers and students, include: (1) a class called "Thinking-Writing" which uses freewriting, clustering, and written dialogue with an imaginary tutee; (2) a testimonial on the importance of knowing how to write in adult life;…

Composition instruction based on aims of discourse rather than on modes can help students understand the purpose and function behind their writing. Such an approach, developed by Caroline Eckhardt and David Stewart, offers four categories that cover most purposes for writing in academic or career settings: (1) to clarify what the subject is, (2)…

Seeking to involve students more actively in their writing assignments, two teachers developed a group of sequential writing assignments with an interdisciplinary emphasis for students in an advanced writing course. The goal of these writing assignments was to give students who had solved most of their mechanical writing problems a chance to…

Argues that when students of English as a second language (ESL) use English in preparing and writing assignments in other subjects of study, they face communication problems that deserve special attention in the language class. Shows how ESL teachers can cooperate with the teachers of other subjects to help the students. (SED)

Explores ways in which an expository writing class can encompass training in both professional writing and in the humanities. Presents a writing assignment that combines research in the humanities with writing for decision makers. (HTH)