In this description of a learning community for "at-risk" and basic writing students at the University of Wyoming, I outline the reasons our students resist academic writing prior to their entry into college--reasons largely unrelated to typical perceptions of at-risk students as "lazy" or intellectually less capable. For…

In this autoethnographic, institutional narrative, we describe the evolution of a Studio program at an open-access, regional campus of a state university. The Studio, first conceptualized by Grego and Thompson, is a one-credit writing workshop taken by students concurrently enrolled in a composition course. Developing this program necessitated…

Separate articles describe courses designed to teach basic writing to academically underprepared college students. Six courses are described: a program which teaches students how to reason correctly, on the premise that students cannot write if they cannot think; a course which teaches academically underprepared black students how language…

Discusses the characteristics of the ideal basic writing instructor, including commitment, curiosity, and confidence. Describes some of the ways in which the Ohio State University faculty has tried to foster these characteristics in its basic writing instructors. (HTH)

Describes how writing faculty at an eastern state college recruit, train, and offer professional support to volunteer basic writing instructors. (HTH)

Describes efforts of the faculty writing workshop at New York University to help teachers redefine themselves as writing teachers based on being a writer rather than a teacher. Describes the activities and rationale for each workshop. (HTH)

Describes the seminar/practicum program for teachers of basic writing at the University of Iowa. Includes the instructional sequence and the function of course journals and rationales. (HTH)

Describes a method for reorienting the deeply ingrained attitudes of teaching assistants toward writing by introducing them to a variety of writing problems that will give them insights into the difficulties both teachers and students encounter in the classroom. (HTH)

Describes the training program at Penn State University for training nontraditional composition instructors--those with no formal training in English. Evaluation of the training program indicated that students' writing neither benefited nor suffered from new teachers' lack of teaching experience, because of the effectiveness of the training they…

Describes the development of the doctoral program in composition at Michigan's Wayne State University. Includes a description of core courses, interdisciplinary coursework, and opportunities for gaining practical teaching experience. (HTH)

Describes the development of the doctoral program in basic composition and rhetoric at the University of Louisville (Kentucky). Discusses the general theory for training basic writing teachers, the kinds of practical experiences they should have, and the course requirements. Includes a bibliography of texts for basic writing teachers. (HTH)

Describes the instruction for basic teachers at Ohio's Findlay College. Discusses course materials and the training of writing assistants and current faculty members. (HTH)

Describes an inservice and preservice training program for writing teachers at the secondary and postsecondary levels at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Includes a description of a one-day writing workshop and of a graduate course with a laboratory component. (HTH)

Describes a collaborative effort among New York high school and college teachers, administrators, and students to improve writing skills. Discusses the project format and the writing/reading and writing instruction principles underlying the program. (HTH)

Provides strategies designed to help both mainstream and underrepresented students meet the rhetorical demands of placement exams and gain control in these situations. Describes the University of California Santa Barbara's Preparatory Program which serves a large, culturally diverse student population, acknowledges the variables embedded in the…