Careful use of analogy can create interesting and sharp writing. Some of the problems are that an analogy imposes an attitude, there must be a counterpart, details may or may not correspond point-for-point, and an analogy starts in difference and is then brought into the realm of likeness. (TJ)

Describes using the beginning of a Western story in a story completion exercise to stimulate writing. (TJ)

Offers seven effective learning activities for the first day of class. (MS)

Argues that students can be made more aware of language used in the "real" world by introducing them to figures of speech. (MS)

A pretest/posttest assignment involving the writing of a business letter was given to 123 business communication students. Findings indicate that students gain equal efficiency in the understanding of and skill in the application of business writing principles by writing from draft through final copy as they do when editing and revising prewritten…

Discusses techniques for teaching advanced writers to use punctuation to create rhetorical effects. (MS)

Proposes that a systematic program of summary writing may be particularly effective tool for helping students overcome egocentrism by requiring them to focus objectively on someone else's ideas. Describes a program of summary assignments that foster dialectic thinking. (HTH)

Outlines the procedures used in a writing course, in which students write summaries of selected articles or editorials from magazines or newspapers. Discusses the instructional, cognitive, and affective advantages and implications of the approach. (DMM)

Discusses research and theory related to journal writing and provides a rationale for including it in the language arts classroom. (FL)

Discusses procedures for applying journal writing to learning study skills. Focuses on conditions for learning; offers guidelines for teachers in getting started and providing feedback; discusses typical student reactions; and lists the advantages of using journals for self-monitoring and communication. (DMM)

Offers suggestions, based on textbook materials, for helping English-as-a-second-language students learn to write coherent English. (FL)

Describes a final writing assignment in which students themselves must propose a writing assignment and rationale for future use in the classroom. The assignment forces students to examine what they have learned in the course and gives the teacher some insight into what has not been taught successfully. (HTH)

Describes a writing exercise in which students are asked to write questions to be submitted to a hypothetical computer. Suggestions for subsequent activities are provided. (TO)