Suggests enlarging the sphere of feminist composition by including in it an approach to argument, ways to proceed if one is in conflict with one's audience. Explores the beginning of the feminist theory of composition. (MG)

States that, by teaching students to look for a relationship between what they say and what they do not say in their writing, teachers can show students that it is possible to establish new configurations, to change their minds, if they choose. (MG)

Examines the enthusiastic discourse that has accompanied the introduction of computers into writing classes. Explores how this language may influence both change and the status quo in electronic classrooms. Argues that writing instructors, by thinking critically and carefully about technology, can succeed in using it to improve the educational…

Suggests that using sociolinguistics as the subject of a semester-long course leads to real and exciting research rather than technically correct but lifeless "dummy runs" for real research in freshman composition courses. (MG)

Describes a course that resulted from the interest and need of the academic-advising office to serve undecided students more efficiently, preferably in a group-advising format. Finds that the resulting atmosphere seems to help students make significant progress in writing and in understanding their indecision. (MG)

Offers a modest new taxonomy for rhetorical heuristics for arrangement, one of the five major divisions of classical rhetoric. Suggests schemes suitable for academic discourse, such as "obvious before remarkable,""literal before symbolic," and "explanation before complication." Supplies a limited theoretical context…

Argues that writing teachers need to encourage profuseness as well as concision, to teach not just brevity but also loquacity, to help students repeat inventively. Notes that the stylistic values implicit in writing theories, pedagogy, and culture so overwhelmingly favor conciseness that elaboration gets lost in the learning process. Presents…

Discusses a process to guide students at various levels of writing ability to inquire into unfamiliar and often intimidating subject areas. Notes the process is based on a Piagetian learning cycle that asks students to identify areas of cognitive dissonance, and to engage in a conversation about ways of resolving their uncertainty. (RS)

Explores the apparent conflict in writing instruction between an emphasis on general versus local (specific) knowledge. Explains that the general knowledge focus is based upon cognitive rhetoric, whereas the local knowledge perspective comes from social theories of knowledge. Argues for a pluralistic theory of expertise which incorporates both…

Suggests that university computer labs offer the advantages of decentralizing instruction and drawing attention to students' writing. Notes that, although labs require money and instructional space, the benefits outweigh the limitations. Argues that, once a collaborative atmosphere is established and word processing is practiced, students can…

Describes a strategy designed to encourage critical thinking by assigning students to research and write about complex topics. Argues that the instructor's inclusion of both supporting and challenging end comments can encourage critical thinking. Provides examples of both types of comments. (SG)

Argues that metaphor offers students and teachers a significant (but little used) means of communication. Contends that by examining and extending student metaphors for composing, teachers gain valuable information about how students struggle to create a text and how they struggle with teachers over issues of power and authority. (RS)

Presents an extended sequence of reading and writing assignments using John Hersey's "Hiroshima" to introduce composition students to the nature of interpretation, understanding, and composing. Stresses learning through enactment. (RAE)

Proposes that freshman writing instructors incorporate the form of writing practiced by the social sciences. Notes that this form constructs an intellectual bridge that leads from a limited "I"-oriented perspective to the academic discourse community. Gives three examples of writing strategies adapted from the social sciences. (RS)

Examines the loss of an individual's culture while learning the discourse of academia. Suggests writing topics and assignments that not only help students mediate between school and home cultures, but serve as a base for ongoing teacher research into the ways in which home and university cultures interact. (RAE)