How organize a research project? Students reflect on their personal experience with the subject of the research; see a multi-modal presentation on the subject; consult children’s books on the subject; YA books on the subject; adult books on the subject; knowledgeable people on the subject; Internet info on the subject; prepare a Q &A on the subject; Produce unanswered questions about the subject. Ray (2004), suggested by Sr. P Randle. Elementary English (Jan. 70), 156.
What is “spelling consciousness”? Proposes the concept of “spelling consciousness,” whether students recognize that they have misspelled words. WJ Valmont. “Spelling Consciousness: A Long Neglected Area.” 1219-1221.
How predict spellings that end in “-er” and “-or”? Concrete nouns (water, slipper) tend to end in “-er,” while abstract nouns tend to end in “-or” (humor, flavor), but exceptions are “sugar” and “cellar.” JW Bloodgood & LC Pacifici. Reading Teacher (Nov. 04), 261.
What do we know about having difficulties with spelling? 85% of our words are spelled regularly. The difficulty has risen because the 15% that are spelled irregularly are used 85% of the time. GL Jackson & AM Guber. “The Way Out of the Spelling Labyrinth,” 94.
How teach students to deal with controversial issues in writing? Motivate students to write by raising emotional, controversial issues, but show students how to control their emotions when discussing them and writing about them. J Lindquist. College English (Nov. 04), 187-209.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 33
What should be done about complex usage problems? “If a word is rarely used in spoken English and if the rules that govern its use are so convoluted that they make the average language user beg for mercy, that word should be expelled, excommunicated from the language. Whom is such a word…. There is ample precedent for banishing words from the language. Thee and thou left us years ago, leaving us with only you, an excellent replacement.” D Soles. English Journal (May 05), 34.
What effect does word processing have on students’ writing? Students using word processing made more revisions than students using pencil/pen. A Cook, A Goldberg & M Russell. Research in the Teaching of English (Nov. 04), 202. (abs.)
How succeed in argumentative writing and speaking? “…the good rhetor answers the opponent’s questions even before they’re asked.” WC Booth. College English (Mar. 05), 379.
How learn from other people’s writing? Mary Higgins Clark summarized the first and last paragraphs of each chapter of duMaurier’s Rebecca to see how she created terror or suspense. EM Abbe. The Writer (Dec. 04), 6.
What is the hardest job in having your book published? “When I held the completed manuscript in my hands, little did I know that the hardest jobs—getting the book published and getting it noticed—were still ahead of me.” L Borders [Author of Cloud Cuckoo Land]. The Writer (May 05), 14.
How prepare book proposals? In submitting book proposals, you need to summarize your competition, other books written on your topic, and state why your book is different. Begin with Amazon.com. M Allen. The Writer (Nov. 04), 15-16.
What effect does word processing have on students’ writing? Students using word processing made more revisions than students using pencil/pen. A Cook, A Goldberg & M Russell. Research in the Teaching of English (Nov. 04), 202. (abs.)
How succeed in argumentative writing and speaking? “…the good rhetor answers the opponent’s questions even before they’re asked.” WC Booth. College English (Mar. 05), 379.
How learn from other people’s writing? Mary Higgins Clark summarized the first and last paragraphs of each chapter of duMaurier’s Rebecca to see how she created terror or suspense. EM Abbe. The Writer (Dec. 04), 6.
What is the hardest job in having your book published? “When I held the completed manuscript in my hands, little did I know that the hardest jobs—getting the book published and getting it noticed—were still ahead of me.” L Borders [Author of Cloud Cuckoo Land]. The Writer (May 05), 14.
How prepare book proposals? In submitting book proposals, you need to summarize your competition, other books written on your topic, and state why your book is different. Begin with Amazon.com. M Allen. The Writer (Nov. 04), 15-16.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 32
How long does it take writers to write books? Roald Dahl: “I have written only two long children’s books myself, and for all I know they may be completely worthless…. Each of them took somewhere between eight and nine months to complete, with no time off for other work, and eight or nine months is a big slice out of the life of any writer….” The Writer (Apr. 05), 8.
What don’t standardized writing tests tell us about student writers? “Standardized tests like the SAT II and our own writing placement test, while they do provide some data about student writers, do not capture some of the qualities—like motivation, task persistence, and the metacognitive abilities that allow students to take courses strategically—that count most heavily toward success in the university. (That is why high school GPA remains the most accurate single predictor of success in college.)” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
What are the advantages of short courses in writing? “Authors found that the short, 6-week writing course helped students with poor standardized test scores succeed in learning to write because of “immersion.” “We now know that our accelerated courses do not shortchange but actually support student learning: we can now look for ways to offer such ‘immersion’ experiences in other venues….” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
How teach students to construct a story? Using 12 shots, students create a photo story with accompanying text on index cards. R Wilder. Class Notes Plus (Aug. 05), 14-15.
How help students learn to write fiction? Each person in a group writes the first paragraph of a story. Then pass to the right. Write second paragraph. Then pass to the right and write the third paragraph. Etc. F Jones. The Writer (May 05), 12.
What don’t standardized writing tests tell us about student writers? “Standardized tests like the SAT II and our own writing placement test, while they do provide some data about student writers, do not capture some of the qualities—like motivation, task persistence, and the metacognitive abilities that allow students to take courses strategically—that count most heavily toward success in the university. (That is why high school GPA remains the most accurate single predictor of success in college.)” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
What are the advantages of short courses in writing? “Authors found that the short, 6-week writing course helped students with poor standardized test scores succeed in learning to write because of “immersion.” “We now know that our accelerated courses do not shortchange but actually support student learning: we can now look for ways to offer such ‘immersion’ experiences in other venues….” S McLeod, H Horn & RH Haswell. College Composition and Communication (June 05), 556-580.
How teach students to construct a story? Using 12 shots, students create a photo story with accompanying text on index cards. R Wilder. Class Notes Plus (Aug. 05), 14-15.
How help students learn to write fiction? Each person in a group writes the first paragraph of a story. Then pass to the right. Write second paragraph. Then pass to the right and write the third paragraph. Etc. F Jones. The Writer (May 05), 12.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 31
What is the value of the five-paragraph essay?
Gives students a framework (a model?) for organization. Byung-n-Seo. English Journal (Nov. 07), 15-16.
How prepare writing assignments?
Need to revise once-favorite writing assignments to make them more relevant to today’s students. SA Jolley. English Journal (Nov. 07), 23.
How help students define the writing process?
Ask students to complete the following sentence: “Writing is like….” G van Nest. English Journal (Nov. 07), 98.
How can writing teachers improve relations with the community?
Use our skills in writing and teaching writing by working cooperatively with groups in the community. S Schneider. College English (Nov. 07), 144-167.
What is “voice” in writing?
“Voice” in writing reflects the personality of the writer. P. Elbow. College English (Nov. 07), 168.
Why write memoirs?
Student wrote a memoir as his dissertation. Mother disagreed with the facts of an incident when he was diagnosed with cancer. People might disagree with “what happened” when one writes a memoir, but it doesn’t matter. Facts of incidents may be remembered differently by different people. Although you learn to define yourself by writing memoirs, they are also written for others—a way of participating in the experiences of life. W Bradley. College English (Nov. 07), 202-211.
Gives students a framework (a model?) for organization. Byung-n-Seo. English Journal (Nov. 07), 15-16.
How prepare writing assignments?
Need to revise once-favorite writing assignments to make them more relevant to today’s students. SA Jolley. English Journal (Nov. 07), 23.
How help students define the writing process?
Ask students to complete the following sentence: “Writing is like….” G van Nest. English Journal (Nov. 07), 98.
How can writing teachers improve relations with the community?
Use our skills in writing and teaching writing by working cooperatively with groups in the community. S Schneider. College English (Nov. 07), 144-167.
What is “voice” in writing?
“Voice” in writing reflects the personality of the writer. P. Elbow. College English (Nov. 07), 168.
Why write memoirs?
Student wrote a memoir as his dissertation. Mother disagreed with the facts of an incident when he was diagnosed with cancer. People might disagree with “what happened” when one writes a memoir, but it doesn’t matter. Facts of incidents may be remembered differently by different people. Although you learn to define yourself by writing memoirs, they are also written for others—a way of participating in the experiences of life. W Bradley. College English (Nov. 07), 202-211.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 30
How help law students learn to write in the legal profession? The first communication need for anyone in law is to be able to state precisely…what the law is. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 30. The second communication need for anyone in law is to be able to define a problem, or, in their terms, to isolate legal issues. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 31. The third communication need for anyone in law is to be able effectively to set forth the facts of a case. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 32. The fourth need for anyone in law is [to]…apply general principles of law to particular instances. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 33. If lawyers need the power to persuade, however, it is interesting to discover how little training in persuasion they receive. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 33. The fifth need for anyone in law is to be able to adapt his or her written discourse on legal issues to communicate to non-lawyers. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 33. Of course, I am not suggesting that all legal discourse should be accessible to non-lawyers, but it is certainly true that much legal discourse must be. Surprisingly, though, there is little training given law professionals in this very important professional skill, even though it is clear that those in law understand the need for the skills. DW Stevenson. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 78), 34.
How help children learn to speak and write using the language experience approach [LEA]? Children retell a story they have read or heard read to them. Their re-told story is recorded on chart paper. They then read it aloud. GM Giovannini. Elementary English (Nov. 72), 981-985.
Why teach creative writing? Students engage in creative writing exercises to help them understand the creative techniques used in writing literature. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 77), 72-73.
How use writing in teaching literature? In the last 5 to 10 minutes of class, students write journal entries on the literature being discussed in class. JR Nicholl. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 305-307.
How help students learn different types of essays? Use Montaigne as a model for the personal essay, an alternative to the standard 5-paragraph “essay.” “Meandering thoughts.” RM Palumbo. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 382-384. [Might want to use the “Spectator” and Francis Bacon and more modern essayists as well.]
What do modern writers need to learn? …the biggest problem writers now face: how to present the sophisticated content people need in the simplified formats today’s attention spans require. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 1. [B Ross-Larson]: ‘Attention-sustaining devices….’ CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
What should be the writer’s purpose? Louis Sachar: Try to write something really good. Don’t go into it as a money-maker or with the objective to get published. The object is to write something good. And then it probably will get published and might make money. The goal is to write a good book. SM Cindrich. The Writer (Oct. 04), 23.
How help children learn to speak and write using the language experience approach [LEA]? Children retell a story they have read or heard read to them. Their re-told story is recorded on chart paper. They then read it aloud. GM Giovannini. Elementary English (Nov. 72), 981-985.
Why teach creative writing? Students engage in creative writing exercises to help them understand the creative techniques used in writing literature. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 77), 72-73.
How use writing in teaching literature? In the last 5 to 10 minutes of class, students write journal entries on the literature being discussed in class. JR Nicholl. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 305-307.
How help students learn different types of essays? Use Montaigne as a model for the personal essay, an alternative to the standard 5-paragraph “essay.” “Meandering thoughts.” RM Palumbo. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 382-384. [Might want to use the “Spectator” and Francis Bacon and more modern essayists as well.]
What do modern writers need to learn? …the biggest problem writers now face: how to present the sophisticated content people need in the simplified formats today’s attention spans require. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 1. [B Ross-Larson]: ‘Attention-sustaining devices….’ CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
What should be the writer’s purpose? Louis Sachar: Try to write something really good. Don’t go into it as a money-maker or with the objective to get published. The object is to write something good. And then it probably will get published and might make money. The goal is to write a good book. SM Cindrich. The Writer (Oct. 04), 23.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 29
What are the steps in the writing process? Divides the composing process into the steps of pre-writing (experiencing the desire to communicate, discovering subject and audience, choosing a form), writing (arranging material, making choices of language, embodying ideas in language), and post-writing (evaluating, editing, proofreading). C Koch & JM Brazil in RL Larson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 205.
How teach students to organize paragraphs? Given a starter sentence, students try to predict the sentences that will follow. M Donley. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 184. Students begin paragraph with a question instead of a topic sentence. The body of the paragraph answers the question. C Cohan, 1976. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 182.
What do we know about organizing paragraphs? [B Ross-Larson]: It’s true that a single paragraph shouldn’t contain more than one idea; equally true that some ideas deserve more than one paragraph. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
How prepare to write an abstract? …topic sentences need to be weighed heavily [in preparing to construct an abstract]. They are often the first…sentence in a paragraph and carry the main idea. DM Guinn. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 383.
How good is the quality of writing in papers offered for plagiarism on the Internet? Author goes online and pays for term papers on demand, a healthy chunk of money, too. Gives examples of the quality of writing from the papers—it isn’t good. S Hansen. New York Times (Aug. 22, 04), Internet.
How teach poetry? Display poetic formats in the classroom. M Weiger. Elementary English (Jan. 75), 106. Among all figures of speech, the metaphor and the simile are probably those poets use most often. Each of these figures creates a comparison between things not usually regarded as comparable. In this respect, simile and metaphor are similar. There is an obvious technical difference in their structures, the simile always marked by “as,” “like” or some other word to signal the comparison. And there are some subtle differences in the way the two figures affect meaning and in the impression they make upon the reader. F Trefethen. The Writer (Sept. 73), 21.
How teach students to organize paragraphs? Given a starter sentence, students try to predict the sentences that will follow. M Donley. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 184. Students begin paragraph with a question instead of a topic sentence. The body of the paragraph answers the question. C Cohan, 1976. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 182.
What do we know about organizing paragraphs? [B Ross-Larson]: It’s true that a single paragraph shouldn’t contain more than one idea; equally true that some ideas deserve more than one paragraph. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s The Web’s Impact on Writing…. American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
How prepare to write an abstract? …topic sentences need to be weighed heavily [in preparing to construct an abstract]. They are often the first…sentence in a paragraph and carry the main idea. DM Guinn. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 383.
How good is the quality of writing in papers offered for plagiarism on the Internet? Author goes online and pays for term papers on demand, a healthy chunk of money, too. Gives examples of the quality of writing from the papers—it isn’t good. S Hansen. New York Times (Aug. 22, 04), Internet.
How teach poetry? Display poetic formats in the classroom. M Weiger. Elementary English (Jan. 75), 106. Among all figures of speech, the metaphor and the simile are probably those poets use most often. Each of these figures creates a comparison between things not usually regarded as comparable. In this respect, simile and metaphor are similar. There is an obvious technical difference in their structures, the simile always marked by “as,” “like” or some other word to signal the comparison. And there are some subtle differences in the way the two figures affect meaning and in the impression they make upon the reader. F Trefethen. The Writer (Sept. 73), 21.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 28
How measure quality in writing? Predictors of quality in writing: density of modification in paragraphs; absence of run-on sentences. P DiStefano & R Marzano in RL Larson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 200.
How should students prepare for writing? Rhetorical situation: Why are you writing? Who is your audience? What is the occasion? What is your purpose? What is the means of publication? What particular constraints seem to be operating? Students must complete the “rhetorical situation” before turning in papers. LS Ede. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79)
How can teachers help their students learn to write? Teachers should review and comment on preliminary drafts. W U McDonald, Jr. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 167-170.
How should students prepare for writing? Some writers seem to work more in their head, and others more on paper. DM Murray. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 377.
How can students become more conscious of their writing process? Students keep diaries in which they reflect on their writing processes. S Crowley. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 166-169.
How should students prepare for writing? Heuristics are lists of questions about topics that enable students to produce information on the topic and prepare them to write compositions on the topic. JM Lauer. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 268-269.
What are the processes that writers in all fields use in producing their writing? We have interviews with imaginative writers about the writing process, but rarely interviews with science writers, business writers, political writers, journalists, ghost writers, legal writers, medical writers—examples of effective writers who use language to inform and persuade. DM Murray. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 380.
How should students prepare for writing? Rhetorical situation: Why are you writing? Who is your audience? What is the occasion? What is your purpose? What is the means of publication? What particular constraints seem to be operating? Students must complete the “rhetorical situation” before turning in papers. LS Ede. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79)
How can teachers help their students learn to write? Teachers should review and comment on preliminary drafts. W U McDonald, Jr. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 167-170.
How should students prepare for writing? Some writers seem to work more in their head, and others more on paper. DM Murray. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 377.
How can students become more conscious of their writing process? Students keep diaries in which they reflect on their writing processes. S Crowley. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 166-169.
How should students prepare for writing? Heuristics are lists of questions about topics that enable students to produce information on the topic and prepare them to write compositions on the topic. JM Lauer. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 268-269.
What are the processes that writers in all fields use in producing their writing? We have interviews with imaginative writers about the writing process, but rarely interviews with science writers, business writers, political writers, journalists, ghost writers, legal writers, medical writers—examples of effective writers who use language to inform and persuade. DM Murray. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 78), 380.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 27
Writing exercise. Talk to another person for 20 minutes. Then write a portrait of your partner. A Bloom. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 29.
Pre-writing. Before beginning, decide on where and with whom and how you are going to do your research. S Gruen. The Writer (Apr. 07), pp. 30-33.
Form for writing. There is a difference between reports and stories. RP Clark, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 42.
Organization for writing. Build your work around a key question. RP Clark. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 44.
Publishing. “In some cases, writing the book is the easy part—selling it is what is truly challenging.” K. James-Enger, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 50.
Teaching writing. Writing can be taught. The desire to write cannot be taught. R Rendell, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 55.
Writing reviews. End a review of a book with the “best line” from the book. J Broderick, The Writer (Apr. 07), pp. 59-61.
How To write. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all—that’s read a lot and write a lot.” Stephen King, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 60.
Pre-writing. Pay attention to letters to the editor of magazines—they’re your audience. H Hoff, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 63.
Pre-writing. Before beginning, decide on where and with whom and how you are going to do your research. S Gruen. The Writer (Apr. 07), pp. 30-33.
Form for writing. There is a difference between reports and stories. RP Clark, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 42.
Organization for writing. Build your work around a key question. RP Clark. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 44.
Publishing. “In some cases, writing the book is the easy part—selling it is what is truly challenging.” K. James-Enger, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 50.
Teaching writing. Writing can be taught. The desire to write cannot be taught. R Rendell, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 55.
Writing reviews. End a review of a book with the “best line” from the book. J Broderick, The Writer (Apr. 07), pp. 59-61.
How To write. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all—that’s read a lot and write a lot.” Stephen King, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 60.
Pre-writing. Pay attention to letters to the editor of magazines—they’re your audience. H Hoff, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 63.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 26
Beginning your writing. “Always begin your story with a short, strong sentence.” WH Hills., The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 8.
Publishing “Then [1887 at the founding of The Writer] as now (alas), few writers got rich off their words.” C Leddy, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 9.
Writer’s Block. Running is a way to generate ideas, according to Malcolm Gladwell of the New Yorker: "I explicitly use this time to work out writing problems.” K. Elde. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 9.
Ideas for writing. Listen to others’ stories and write them. PM Avery, The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 16.
Writing process Most writers write in order to discover. R Bausch. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 23.
Audience. “Readers shall take what they will or won’t; I can’t allow myself to worry about it. Truly, it’s just the story, telling the story with as much vividness and exactness and force as I can.” R Bausch. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 25.
Writer’s block. Try writing a 1,000 word sentence without concern for punctuation, spelling, etc. J McCorkle. The Writer (Apr. 07), p. 28.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 25
What is meant by revising? Students have been so intimidated in their grade-school classrooms by Mrs. Grundy’s standards of neatness that they may interpret our assignments to revise as requests merely to recopy an original to improve the appearance on the page. EP Maimon. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 367.
How teach revision? Give students copies of our own first drafts with revisions so that they can visualize the process of revision. EP Maimon. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 367.
How define revision? …identifies two kinds of revision: external revision (preparing the writing for a reader) and internal revision (discovering meaning, structure, preferred word choices, voice in what one has written). DM Murray in RL Larson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 208.
How define revision? Revision is usually equated with cleanliness; to revise is to groom, to polish, to order, and to tidy-up one’s writing. The message communicated to students is that revision is the act of cleaning prose of all its linguistic litter. NI Sommers. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 79), 48. [RayS: I define the use of a knowledge of grammar in editing as the process of polishing prose. I define revision as adding, deleting, substituting and moving words, phrases, clauses, sentences and paragraphs.]
How define revision? The use of such temporal phrases as ‘the final aspect of the composing process is revision…’ or ‘after a writer writes, he revises…’ equate revision with an activity that is separate in quality and isolated in time from writing. NI Sommers. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 79), 48. [RayS: In my sequence of the writing process, students, once they have defined their thesis sentence, complete a quick first draft that is then revised and edited. I consider it important to put down a first draft right to the summarizing paragraph—a first draft that is then reworked. Sommers seems to envision a process that begins at the beginning with the introductory material and works steadily through the thesis, the middle paragraphs and the final summarizing paragraph, revising and editing as she goes. That’s not the way I write, but I can understand that once people understand the structure of expository writing, they might prefer to write in that way.]
How teach revision? Give students copies of our own first drafts with revisions so that they can visualize the process of revision. EP Maimon. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 367.
How define revision? …identifies two kinds of revision: external revision (preparing the writing for a reader) and internal revision (discovering meaning, structure, preferred word choices, voice in what one has written). DM Murray in RL Larson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 208.
How define revision? Revision is usually equated with cleanliness; to revise is to groom, to polish, to order, and to tidy-up one’s writing. The message communicated to students is that revision is the act of cleaning prose of all its linguistic litter. NI Sommers. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 79), 48. [RayS: I define the use of a knowledge of grammar in editing as the process of polishing prose. I define revision as adding, deleting, substituting and moving words, phrases, clauses, sentences and paragraphs.]
How define revision? The use of such temporal phrases as ‘the final aspect of the composing process is revision…’ or ‘after a writer writes, he revises…’ equate revision with an activity that is separate in quality and isolated in time from writing. NI Sommers. College Composition and Communication (Feb. 79), 48. [RayS: In my sequence of the writing process, students, once they have defined their thesis sentence, complete a quick first draft that is then revised and edited. I consider it important to put down a first draft right to the summarizing paragraph—a first draft that is then reworked. Sommers seems to envision a process that begins at the beginning with the introductory material and works steadily through the thesis, the middle paragraphs and the final summarizing paragraph, revising and editing as she goes. That’s not the way I write, but I can understand that once people understand the structure of expository writing, they might prefer to write in that way.]
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 24
In what ways can teachers respond to student writing? 7 methods of responding to student writing: correcting, emoting, describing, questioning, reminding, suggesting, assigning [another paper based on what the student has written]. EO Lees. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 370-374. Use questions in responding to students’ papers. L Odell, 1976. College Composition and Communication (May 77), 189. Give student writers positive encouragement in what they are doing well. EF Haynes in RL Larson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 203.
How prepare students for peer review? Teachers need to model how to respond to students’ writing in order for their students to respond effectively to other students’ writing. R VanDeWeghe. English Journal (Sept. 04), 95-99.
How can the teacher become a real audience for student writers? The teacher emphasizes that he is a “dumb reader.” Make your writing so clear that even a dumb reader like me will understand it. W Gibson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 192-195.
What are student assumptions about writing? …since very few of our students understand how writers behave, they may initially resent the assignment to write multiple drafts because they believe that good writers get things right the first time. EP Maimon. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 367.
What are the characteristics of good writers? “The ability to reflect on what is being written seems to be the essence of the difference between able and not-so-able writers, from their initial writing experience onward.” [Teach students the habit of reflecting on their writing.] S Pianko. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 277.
How prepare students for peer review? Teachers need to model how to respond to students’ writing in order for their students to respond effectively to other students’ writing. R VanDeWeghe. English Journal (Sept. 04), 95-99.
How can the teacher become a real audience for student writers? The teacher emphasizes that he is a “dumb reader.” Make your writing so clear that even a dumb reader like me will understand it. W Gibson. College Composition and Communication (May 79), 192-195.
What are student assumptions about writing? …since very few of our students understand how writers behave, they may initially resent the assignment to write multiple drafts because they believe that good writers get things right the first time. EP Maimon. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 79), 367.
What are the characteristics of good writers? “The ability to reflect on what is being written seems to be the essence of the difference between able and not-so-able writers, from their initial writing experience onward.” [Teach students the habit of reflecting on their writing.] S Pianko. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 79), 277.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 23
How help students simplify technical writing? Students given passage in science. They must replace technical words with common words that explain the technical term. CR Elliott. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 184.
What is style? Emerson in “Poetry and Imagination”: Write, that I may know you. Style betrays you, as your eyes do. We detect at once by it whether the writer has a firm grasp on his fact or thought. Qtd by G Cowan. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 77), 262. [Strunk and White: Style is a matter of attitude.] Strunk and White: Style takes its final shape…more from attitudes of mind than from principles of composition. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s "The Web’s Impact on Writing…." American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
How help the reader follow the writer’s thought? [B Ross-Larson] favors ‘engaging titles and subtitles,’ powerful section headings. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s "The Web’s Impact on Writing…." American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
What is the most significant problem in teaching the research paper? “One of the problems with a traditional research paper has been the wedding…of inquiry-based research with thesis-driven persuasive writing.” J Strickland. English Journal (Sept. 04), 23.
What is the role of footnoting in the modern research paper? An agonizing review of the complexities of footnoting and the new edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. [How do modern writers organize their material? The author, who is a regular book reviewer for The New Yorker, has a curious method of organizing his material. He most definitely does not use the “Tell them…” approach to organizing. In this review, he begins with an agonizingly vivid retelling of his experience of typing footnotes on a typewriter, launches into a diatribe against Word for Windows and finishes with his description of the frustrations that await users of the new edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.] L Menand. New Yorker (Oct. 6, 03), 120-126. [File.]
What are some alternatives to the traditional research paper? Students do research but use different genres in reporting on that research. J Conrad. Classroom Notes Plus (Aug. 04), 8-10.
What is style? Emerson in “Poetry and Imagination”: Write, that I may know you. Style betrays you, as your eyes do. We detect at once by it whether the writer has a firm grasp on his fact or thought. Qtd by G Cowan. College Composition and Communication (Oct. 77), 262. [Strunk and White: Style is a matter of attitude.] Strunk and White: Style takes its final shape…more from attitudes of mind than from principles of composition. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s "The Web’s Impact on Writing…." American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
How help the reader follow the writer’s thought? [B Ross-Larson] favors ‘engaging titles and subtitles,’ powerful section headings. CS Stepp in Rev. of B Ross-Larson’s "The Web’s Impact on Writing…." American Journalism. Issue 8, 2002, p. 2.
What is the most significant problem in teaching the research paper? “One of the problems with a traditional research paper has been the wedding…of inquiry-based research with thesis-driven persuasive writing.” J Strickland. English Journal (Sept. 04), 23.
What is the role of footnoting in the modern research paper? An agonizing review of the complexities of footnoting and the new edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. [How do modern writers organize their material? The author, who is a regular book reviewer for The New Yorker, has a curious method of organizing his material. He most definitely does not use the “Tell them…” approach to organizing. In this review, he begins with an agonizingly vivid retelling of his experience of typing footnotes on a typewriter, launches into a diatribe against Word for Windows and finishes with his description of the frustrations that await users of the new edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.] L Menand. New Yorker (Oct. 6, 03), 120-126. [File.]
What are some alternatives to the traditional research paper? Students do research but use different genres in reporting on that research. J Conrad. Classroom Notes Plus (Aug. 04), 8-10.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Professional Journals on Writing 22
How should teachers respond to students’ errors in writing? See if students’ errors cluster in patterns. Is there an underlying pattern that unites the errors? MP Shaughnessy. College Composition and Communication (May 78), 190-191.
Should English teachers write? “English teachers should write. They should write even when they have papers to correct, lesson plans to make, reading to do, committee meetings to attend, Anacin to buy for their headaches, TV programs to watch, spouses to love, meals to eat, a face to prepare to meet the faces they must meet. Yes, English teachers must write even if there is little time to write. Because writing is important, they must find time to write.” EF Suderman. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 77), 357. When I share with the students my own frustrations and problems in writing, a barrier begins to come down. CA Jacobs. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (Sept. 04), 43. Teacher says that to teach writing well, one must write—along with the students—in order to share the experience of the process with them. The teacher becomes a student in her classroom. J Domuragli. English Journal (Sept. 04), 22.
How should teachers give writing assignments? “Some of us would benefit if we adopted the procedure of never assigning a paper which we ourselves have not attempted.” EF Suderman. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 77), 357.
How relate writing and literature? “The teacher [or student] who has tried to write a sonnet can more easily appreciate Shakespeare’s mastery of the form….” EF Suderman. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 77), 357.
What can students learn from analyzing the work of professional writers? Study passages from a particular writer. What rules about writing can be inferred? L Garrigues. English Journal (Sept. 04), 59-65.
Should English teachers write? “English teachers should write. They should write even when they have papers to correct, lesson plans to make, reading to do, committee meetings to attend, Anacin to buy for their headaches, TV programs to watch, spouses to love, meals to eat, a face to prepare to meet the faces they must meet. Yes, English teachers must write even if there is little time to write. Because writing is important, they must find time to write.” EF Suderman. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 77), 357. When I share with the students my own frustrations and problems in writing, a barrier begins to come down. CA Jacobs. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (Sept. 04), 43. Teacher says that to teach writing well, one must write—along with the students—in order to share the experience of the process with them. The teacher becomes a student in her classroom. J Domuragli. English Journal (Sept. 04), 22.
How should teachers give writing assignments? “Some of us would benefit if we adopted the procedure of never assigning a paper which we ourselves have not attempted.” EF Suderman. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 77), 357.
How relate writing and literature? “The teacher [or student] who has tried to write a sonnet can more easily appreciate Shakespeare’s mastery of the form….” EF Suderman. College Composition and Communication (Dec. 77), 357.
What can students learn from analyzing the work of professional writers? Study passages from a particular writer. What rules about writing can be inferred? L Garrigues. English Journal (Sept. 04), 59-65.
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