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A writing class that includes individuals from different disciplines can allow its members to gain a useful perspective on what people do, study, and stand for in the world outside the writing class. There are three assignments that can be particularly useful to explain the view of writing as an extra-disciplinary activity: (1) studying a prose writer of the student's choice; (2) writing a personal research paper; and (3) analyzing the structure of knowledge in the student's own discipline. There are several biases that will inform responses to the students' investigations, such as truth cannot, ultimately be caught; good writing will create believable demonstrations of what it is that has been captured; and really good writing can fool a person. The writing course is the best place in which to learn about those values the university holds most dear--the objective pursuit of truth and the relativity of knowledge--and to examine the nature and validity of those same values. (MS)

On the Internet, one can not only buy books but also obtain information about publishers and vendors, book reviews, authors, and other book-related information. Even electronic texts are available for downloading or browsing online. The paper discusses World Wide Web sites for many book-related information needs, whether a person is searching for nonfiction and reference, various fiction genres, a bookseller specializing in rare books, or the newest book about the Internet itself. The paper describes InfoTrac and FirstSearch, and many of the other services available on the Internet for researching, browsing, purchasing, and downloading books. It also discusses the fact that the diverse book-related activity on the Internet contradicts the oft-heard notion that printed books might be on the verge of extinction. Also included is a topically subdivided list of 36 Web addresses: General Sites (6); Academic Book Sites (9); Book Reviews (7); Rare and OP (out-of-print) Books (3); Book Stores (2); Texts Online (5); Online Magazines and Books (3); and Book Arts (1). (Author/SWC)

Exploring ways of helping teachers to extend their pupils' literacy, this paper's intent is to devise and try in classrooms a range of strategies whereby teachers might develop the abilities of their children to use literacy more effectively as a means of learning. It gives an outline of the model used, the Extending Interaction with Texts, or "EXIT" model, and briefly outlines the thinking and research underlying the model. The paper concludes that despite the difficulties in devising models of this nature, teachers have reacted positively to the attempt to provide a framework for their classroom work. Contains 30 references. (SC)

Developed by classroom teachers during the development phase of Minnesota's Graduation Standards, this performance package is made up of locally designed assignments that, taken together, show whether a student has learned and can apply the knowledge and skills related to interpret and evaluate complex works of music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature or media arts. It begins with reference to the particular content standard addressed in the package, the educational level of the package (high school), and a summary statement of the content standard. It then describes the tasks associated with the student performances: (1) in response to literature, write a journal entry, a poem, and perform two different oral interpretations of the same work; (2) write a literary analysis paper; (3) analyze narrative structure by drawing plot diagrams and storyboards for two different works; (4) develop a portfolio for each of two literary works that includes short essays about the reader's response, narrative structure, elements of fiction, the author's life, and critics' views; (5) write two analytical papers, one identifying the parallels between a literary work and another art form, and the other, the parallels between the literary work and nonfiction; and (6) create an anthology of fiction and nonfiction to explore questions of what story is and what the value of story is. It then offers specific statements from the standard regarding what students should know and should do, the products, task description, special notes, and feedback checklists for each task enumerated in the package. (RS)

Offers a presentation of creative nonfiction addressing the author's personal family experiences. Addresses ethical issues involved in creative nonfiction. Describes how she decided to narrate her history and contemplates in depth the artistic choices she made. (SG)

Suggests that there is a real chance right now for letting the possibilities of creative nonfiction infuse, improve, and invigorate the teaching of composition. Concludes that when allowed to explore literary nonfiction, writing students will develop a substantial set of strengths from which to undertake other disciplinary writing challenges as they explore past and present with an eye to the future. (SG)

Discusses the complexity of naming nonfiction as a class of written works. Struggles with many different possible definitions of nonfiction and considers the problems with many of the definitions. Suggests the use of the term "creative nonfiction" as an umbrella to cover the widest range of nonfiction literary production. Argues that categorizing and compartmentalizing limits vision. (SG)

Argues that English teachers should remember that nonfiction is the preferred reading choice of many of their students, and can be a "good read" and have superb aesthetic qualities. Offers guidelines to help educators design strategies to elicit student responses about nonfiction in the classroom. Describes 25 recently published outstanding nonfiction titles for young adults. (SR)

This book contains an edited transcription of the proceedings of the Conference on Teaching Creative Writing held at the Library of Congress in January 1973. Directors of the four pioneer writing programs in the United States presented papers and led the panel discussions. Panel members were distinguished graduates of or participants in these writing programs. The topics and directors of the four panels are "A Perspective of Academic Programs in Creative Writing" by Elliott Coleman, "The Writing of Poetry" by Paul Engle, "The Writing of Fiction" by Wallace Stegner, and "Nonfiction Prose" by John Ciardi. A list of publications on literature, based on lectures presented at the Library of Congress, is included. (JM)