Describes the results of a questionnaire survey of the faculty of American University to determine their perceptions of student literacy and to discovery what kind of writing, and how much of it, is being assigned. (DD)

Describes three language-related assignments for advanced composition which focus on politics and the English language, symbols and dictionaries, and language as a combination of interpretive and manipulative devices using the techniques of new journalism. (HOD)

Presents an assignment sequence, based on James Moffett's sequence of narrative types, designed to teach the various points of view most often used by authors. Provides instructions, including names of model texts for students to write pieces imitating such narrative techniques as interior monologue, correspondence, dramatic monologue, diary,…

Draws upon author's experience in developing and modifying a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) program for elementary school students to make suggestions about how requirements and grades can serve as "carrots and sticks" to motivate students to conscientiously use CALL programs. (Author/CB)

Teachers as readers would have a more pleasant and stimulating job if they were reading essays that interested them. The step to reading a good paper is designing a good assignment. Some areas that need to be defined for students before they begin to write are outlined. (MLW)

Some argue that instead of being taught as a discrete skill, critical thinking must be linked to the content and methods of specific academic disciplines; they urge faculty to make students explicitly aware of the language and modes of thinking of their disciplines. (MSE)

Discusses the problems that teachers face in dealing with developmental writers, including (1) why they are academically disadvantaged, (2) where to begin instruction, (3) how to determine assignments, and (4) how to evaluate their progress. (JD)

A satisfying assignment for college freshman composition classes is to send students out to interview working writers in the college community. (HOD)

Describes a media history assignment in which students interview older adults about changes they have observed in communication media. (PD)

Describes a student project which illustrates interrelationships among the topics of random sampling, relative frequency concept of probability, design of experiments, and computer generation of data and which involves determining the configurations of numbers and letters on license plates through a microcomputer program. The computer program is…

Describes a feedback method for teaching interviewing skills that requires dual evaluation of a student's performance by both the student interviewer and the interviewee. Illustrates benefits of this method with an analysis of 139 paired assessments of students' information-gathering skills in a "career interview" assignment. (PD)

Suggests use of selected readings from library books as bases for self-study training courses. (JT)

The author maintains that middle level teachers can create curriculum connections that engage families in their children's learning and strengthen the home-school relationship. This article offers four examples of school-initiated partnerships, each of which connects students with their families. These are: (1) the Relative Letter, in which…

Are student-written reports posted on the Internet well written? Do business communications students think they are? This paper describes an assignment used during the first few weeks of a business communication course. The assignment gives business communication students a chance to evaluate a report from an Internet site that serves as a…