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Reports on classroom experiments with replacing standard student report-style papers with more expressive, explorational writing assignments. Outlines how course readings are used as the basis for a paper that takes the form of a series of letters or postcards to an imaginary or real person. Provides examples from student projects. (DSK)

Examines U.S. spouse-abuse program directors' survey. Compares programs according to region and urban-rural location. Results show rural programs offer more services, but few programs accepted clients from outside service areas, and few programs used proactive outreach methods. Discusses findings, social-work implications, and further study possibilities. (TES)

This article describes the use of expressive writing assignments to teach sociological concepts. This assignment has been designed with the intent of getting students personally involved with the material. There are numerous ways to do this, such as keeping journals or learning logs, but they tend to be more unstructured in that students simply make a personal response to material they have read. In contrast, the letter writing assignment dictates specific content that must be included, but the framework within which students come to understand the material, to make it their own, is flexible and meets the expressive goal of writing. There are no real advantages to this assignment. No students have complained about the exercise, although a few have said they could not complete the assignment in the form of letters because they could not create an imaginary correspondence. The criteria used in grading the assignment consists of three major components: addressing the questions outlined on the handout distributed in class; using personal examples and applying concepts or principles; and being creative in presenting the material. The writing assignment gave the students an opportunity to express their idea in myriad ways, resulting in the better understanding of the material due to their active involvement.