Editor's note indicates that George Miller is a pseudonym. (DS)

A discussion of how the new rhetoric emphasizes the psychological reactions of the audience. (DS)

An evaluative review of Francis Christensen's generative rhetoric theory and its application to teaching freshman composition. (DS)

Creative inductive exercises for teaching effective writing skills are presented. Basic objectives of the inductive method include: (1) challenging students with creative options; (2) discovering the basics in sentence construction; (3) interpreting the idea of the "levels of generality;" and (4) focusing on the parallel between sentence…

Research demonstrates that children acquire language through active imitation at a very early age. Evidence suggests that children have a notion of writing prior to entry into school. The use of composition models serves to assist the child in the development of writing skills through imitation. (JN)

Reconsiders the assumptions writing teachers make about students' literacy practices. Chooses students in the "center," neither particularly successful nor recalcitrant failures, to demonstrate a way of reading the rhetorical constructions of students' texts to understand the decisions they make in composing. Sketches implications of…

Offers two expository writing exercises that, machinelike, move from word to idea to arrive at rich and evocative connections. Shows how the first exercise, the four-column association, produces a free-form paragraph or poem following a freewriting warmup. Uses the term "placket" to describe the second exercise, a poem that has a set of…

Describes using the pastiche as the basis for a writing workshop with secondary students. Shows how students are afforded opportunities to explore and enter a rich tradition of imaginative invention and literary formulation as they probe, consider, select, and blend the works of various master writers and Mother Goose rhymes. (SR)

Argues that the five-paragraph-essay structure is a valuable teaching tool but cautions that composition teachers need to ensure that their students don't perceive it as an end in itself. Illustrates how students can learn the principles of effective composition and apply them to any writing task by making necessary modifications. (KEH)

Presents advice for writing award-winning feature stories for high school newspapers. (SR)

Describes an activity that develops student writers' individual voices, even when collaborating closely in a writing workshop. Notes that the writing workshop allows students access to each other's writing processes and encourages consensus on revision directions. (MM)