Describes the rhetorical markers and format characteristic of all published brochures. Discusses a rationale and specific strategy for teaching the brochure. (HTH)

Describes one method of introducing journal writing to a junior high school class and offers a number of journal writing assignments. (MM)

Reviews literature on relationship between syntactic complexity (especially as measured by T-unit and clause length) and quality of written composition. Concludes that neither T-unit length nor clause length is a good predictor of writing quality. Lists implications for teachers in the field. (BRR)

Frequency is the key to achieving flow in good writing. Generating written responses to a variety of tasks on a daily basis instills confidence and competence. Suggested writing techniques include daily journals reflecting individual thinking, paragraph completions based on topic sentences, object descriptions, creation of dialogs, and…

Recommends assigning a short research essay as a productive alternative to the large research project in the freshman writing class. (JL)

Stresses the importance of letter writing as an enriching activity; describes "All About Letters," a resource booklet for teaching students to write letters; and suggests additional activities that can be used to incorporate letter writing skills into composition classes. (JL)

Outlines a procedure to help students revise their writing. (JL)

Describes a writing exercise in law enforcement report writing--writing a report based on a crime photograph--and discusses 10 writing problems revealed by this exercise. (RL)

"Revision: Who, Why? How?" is a four-part article consisting of a "test" on revision, an explanation of revision tactics, three forms for writing revision, and five sample papers for classroom use. (Author)

Professional speakers often use simple mental recipes to organize impromptu talks. The author taught these recipes to his high school composition students and used a timed trial format to give them practice in rapidly outlining their thoughts on a given topic. Thirteen of these recipes are provided. (SJL)

Advocates using the case approach in college writing classes. Suggests that asking students to play the roles of participants in a situation, whether real or imaginary, helps them learn to address a particular audience with a clear purpose. Offers a case approach with discussion questions and possible assignments. (RL)

To dramatize the need for logical organization and precise definition, students are asked to write essays describing specific everyday objects (e.g., screwdriver, nutpick). After the essay is read aloud the class tries to guess the item and comments on the effectiveness of the description. (DS)