Young adolescents should be able to write organized multi-paragraph compositions that develop a central idea and unfold in logical and sequential order, unified through the use of transitional words and phrases. In other words, the compositions should not just consist of a string of related sentences, but represent a dynamic text that has…

This collection of essays on literary composition sets forth rhetorical principles formulated from a close inductive study of contemporary American prose. The first essay develops a system of analyzing sentences by structural levels and outlines a generative rhetoric for the sentence consisting of the processes of "addition,""direction of…

Recent scholarship on Chinese students' English expository essays tends to blur or mitigate the differences between English and Chinese writings. This alleged convergence of English and Chinese rhetorical norms gives rise to a view that rhetorical aspects in second language writing instruction and research in China should be de-emphasized. Drawing…

Two articles on sentence construction and eight on the paragraph comprise this publication. Francis Christensen contributes four articles on (1) the use of loose, cumulative sentences, (2) sentence openers, with illustrations from Hemingway, (3) a generative rhetoric for the paragraph, and (4) the formation of principles of paragraph composition…

THESE 14 PAPERS EMPHASIZE THE VARIETY OF CURRENT THOUGHT ABOUT RHETORIC AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH MODERN RHETORIC IS EXPLOITING NEW INFORMATION AND RESEARCH. THE EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION DEFINES THE RECENTLY REVIVED ART OF RHETORIC IN TERMS OF ITS PURPOSES AND TYPES, AND THE PAPERS THEMSELVES DEMONSTRATE THAT MUCH OF WHAT IS NOW HERALDED AS NEW IN THE…

A study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of a new rhetoric program of composition instruction for secondary school students. The lessons used in the program were designed to provide students with a step-by-step procedure for moving from a topic sentence to a unified, coherent paragraph. Using the primacy of the topic sentence, they led…

To date, very little research on L2 peer review of L2 essay composition has focused on the issue of whether the choice of L1 or L2 use in the peer review process facilitates or hinders students' transmission and reception of productive commentary on their essay drafts. This study was designed to ascertain the impact of language choice in written…

This volume is intended for practicing and prospective teachers at the elementary level through the graduate level who are involved in helping others learn how to write. The 35 articles collected here are organized according to the following section headings: "Introduction,""Motivating Student Writing,""A Reluctant Medium: The Sentence,""The…

Intended for teachers at all levels involved in composition instruction, this revised edition reflects the dynamic growth occurring in the discipline of writing, and consolidates advances made in teaching methodology. The 38 articles, written by such researchers and theorists in the field as James Moffett, Maxine Hairston, Janet Emig, Donald…

To determine whether significant differences exist between a class taught generative rhetoric and a class taught traditional methods of writing, a strategy was developed for teaching the generative rhetoric of the sentence and the paragraph in a first-semester composition course composed of average students. The 56 subjects were randomly assigned…

This paper argues for an overt innovational shift in praxis, as well as classroom configuration in the ESOL writing class by calling for a move away from the current foci on process-based pedagogies for newcomer populations, to an explicit teaching of modeling strategies with concomitant practice opportunities provided in the ESOL writing class.…

Author extends Christensen's theories on paragraph development to formulate a sequence of development for longer compositions, and includes diagrams of sample sequences. (SP)

Reviews the objectives of composition within the total English as a second language curriculum. The limitations of popular instructional methods are discussed and the introduction of controlled paragraph rhetoric is suggested. (CFM)

Encourages composition teachers to adopt a rhetoric of the sentence based on appeals to the intellect, in place of the currently popular rhetoric of the paragraph based on appeals to the emotions. (DD)

Intended for those who want to teach composition primarily and centrally and not just as an adjunct to the study of literature, this book about the composing process provides continuing opportunities to put theory into practice. It consists of the following chapters: (1) "The Composing Process Is a Continuum"; (2) "Observing; Observing Your…