This article reviews recent projects using text structures and the writing process as frameworks to guide the composition dialogue. Learning-disabled students' attitudes toward writing as a required skill rather than a means of expression are confronted in the emphasis on dialogue. Several blank forms for organizing prewriting thoughts are…

Describes a veteran high school English teacher's revised vision of what it means to teach writing to high school students. Describes his reflection and experimentation in the classroom to find a balance between freedom and structure, creativity and organization, appropriate for the realities of the high school classroom. Discusses the process…

This teacher's guide is intended for use in presenting a course to help Kodak Corporation employees develop the basic reading skills required in their workplace. The following topics are covered in the modules: prewriting thinking skills; information identification and organization strategies; awareness of the receiver's characteristics and needs;…

This practicum report describes an intervention to improve the literacy skills of seven at-risk kindergarten children. Intervention objectives were that children will: (1) show an increase in letter recognition; (2) demonstrate book awareness skills; and (3) increase their use of prereading and prewriting strategies. The intervention involved the…

This volume consists of nine conference papers and journal articles concerned with microcomputer applications in the teaching of writing. After a general introduction entitled "Computer-Assisted Composition Instruction: The State of the Art," by Robert Shostak, four papers are devoted to how computers may help with the writing process. In…

Technical writing teachers and their students generally have a good grasp of grammar, mechanics, organization, and specific approaches to report writing for different situations. What they may lack is a procedure for educating themselves on technical subject matter. The following procedures can help without a special on-the-job training program:…

A description is provided of the use of a group process approach to the Freshman English research paper at El Paso Community College. After highlighting problems associated with traditional approaches to freshman research papers, an overview of the group process approach is provided, along with warnings for instructors who might view the approach…

A collaborative effort on the part of teachers from and consultants for the University of California, Irvine/California Writing Project, this guide presents ideas for teaching writing as a process at all levels of the curriculum. Each section of the guide presents an essay introducing the section topic, followed by practical ideas for teaching…

Intended for parents and educators, this monograph briefly describes the relationship between the language processes of reading and writing and suggests some ways language development can be encouraged in young children. The monograph begins by recognizing that writing is a process consisting of prewriting, writing, and rewriting, and urges…

A collaborative effort on the part of teachers from and consultants for the University of California, Irvine/California Writing Project, this guide presents ideas for teaching writing as a process at all levels of the curriculum. Each section of the guide presents an essay introducing the section topic, followed by practical ideas for teaching…

A research project examined whether students in an English 104 freshman composition class would develop the ability to think analogically and divergently by using synectics as an aid to invention in composition, and whether these students would develop a more positive attitude toward writing. (Synectics is a highly structured group activity based…

Wordsworth II, a cooperative venture of English teachers and computer scientists at Michigan Technological University, is designed to be a viable alternative to the computer assisted instruction (CAI) currently on the market for college writing courses. Consisting of eight process-based modules, the program offers a sophisticated and interactive…

For use by teachers in helping students become better writers, this booklet describes and illustrates cognitive mapping, a prewriting technique that helps students combine their verbal and visual skills in order to produce ideas and to plan stories, plays, reports, or essays. The first section of the booklet discusses the interrelations between…

The methods used by a college freshman composition teacher to make writing an authentic and natural activity for students are outlined in this paper. Among the techniques described are the use of (1) warm-up activities to encourage sharing written efforts, with teacher-as-participant; (2) peer editing groups; (3) reflection questions; (4) student…

The writing assignments developed for a course in expository writing intended for gifted eighth grade students are described in this paper. The first assignment described is a causal analysis essay that required the students to examine events from their lives or from newspaper articles and analyze the causes of the actions involved. The paper…