Resource Topics

Teaching Writing - Genre - Academic Writing

Helping African American Males Reach Their Academic Potential

May 2008
Marlene Carter
Marlene Carter, associate director of the UCLA Writing Project, conducted a two-year study of African American males in her AP English class. The study helped her understand that these students underperform for different reasons and allowed her to focus on the real problems affecting their achievement. More ›

The Research Paper: Engaging Students in Academic Writing

March 2008
Cindy Heckenlaible
A teacher of high school freshmen engages her students in writing their research paper—and eliminates plagiarism—by having them write a historical account in first person. More ›

20 Outstanding SAT Essays

Fall 2007
This publication is a collection of student essays that received top scores on the June 2005 SAT. The essays reflect the wide range of points of view, types of evidence, organizational strategies, and writing styles used by high-scoring students. More ›

One Idea—Many Audiences

May 2007
Ann Dobie
Dobie describes how she transformed a graduate research paper on teaching spelling into an academic conference presentation, a professional development workshop, a journal article, and then a book. More ›

Seeing Academic Writing with a New “I”

January 2007
Rebecca Feldbusch
Students need to make personal connections when they write, maintains Feldbusch. Insisting that they leave themselves out of their writing gives students the message that their own perceptions are not of worth. More ›

Are You Ready for College Writing?

The Voice, 2005
Mary Ann Smith
This spring seven NWP sites conducted pilot workshops for high school juniors focused on the writing they will encounter in college. And it's not the 5-paragraph essay. More ›

On the Subject of Grafting

The Voice, 2005
Jan Isenhour
As a ninth grade biology student, Jan Isenhour learns what happens when a teacher makes sure a school assignment resonates with a student. More ›

The Five-Paragraph Theme Redux

The Quarterly, 2004
Elizabeth Rorschach
Rorschach argues that the preset format of the five-paragraph essay lulls students into nonthinking conformity. She contends that teachers obsessed by form become fellow conspirators in the triumph of form over content. More ›

Creative Copying, or in Defense of Mimicry

The Quarterly, Fall 2002
Rebecca Dierking
A student question about the difference between plagiarism and mimicry leads Dierking to a deeper understanding of her students' need for clarity. More ›

Talking Texts: Writing Dialogue in the College Composition Classroom

The Quarterly, Spring 2002
John Levine
Is it possible for an inexperienced writer to juggle the ideas of several authors to create a coherent, analytical essay? Levine encourages students to get these writers talking to one another. More ›

"Write for Your Life" Promotes Teen Literacy, Well-Being

The Voice, Fall 1996
Ten NWP sites are involved with this program, which empowers children to create healthier futures for themselves by making their health the focus of their study. More ›

Creating Work of Their Own: Skills and Voice in an Eighth Grade Research Project

The Quarterly, Fall 1996
Robert Roth
Roth argues that if students are to execute successful research projects they need to put their own stamp on their work and also need explicit instruction in the skills necessary to carry out this task. More ›

Revisited article: New Professor Collides with Real Students

The Quarterly, Winter 1995
Frederick Crews
Crews reminisces about his first teaching experience, in which he encountered "bright, agreeable, but wary" freshmen writers and their pointed responses to the assumptions behind his instructions. More ›

TR 59. Constructing a Research Paper: A Study of Students' Goals and Approaches

National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy Technical Report, 1992
Jennie Nelson
This study of twenty-one college freshmen considers the processes involved in writing an academic research paper in order to determine whether "high-investment" reading and writing processes such as note-taking led to higher-quality papers. More ›

TR 55. Writing from Sources: Authority in Text and Task

National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy Technical Report, 1991
Stuart Greene
Fifteen undergraduates were asked to write either a report or a problem-based essay, integrating prior knowledge with information from six textual sources. The groups differed significantly in their interpretation and performance of the two tasks. More ›

OP 14. Shirley and the Battle of Agincourt: Why It Is So Hard for Students to Write Persuasive Researched Analyses

National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy Occasional Paper, 1989
Margaret Kantz
Kantz connects recent research on expository writing with a discussion of common student problems in writing a term paper. More ›

TR 17. Written Rhetorical Syntheses: Processes and Products

National Center for the Study of Writing and Literacy Technical Report, January 1989
Margaret Kantz
Kantz analyzes the composing processes and written products of three undergraduates and gives quantitative analyses of a group of seventeen undergraduate research papers. More ›

National Writing Project

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