Teaching Writing That Works: A Group Approach to Practical English

The result of Rabkin and Smith's inovative, nonhierarcical approach to composition learning is Practical English, a course devveloped at the University of Michigan. In this successful and popular course, the choice and execution of writing tasks are the responsibility of students working together in groups rather than working alone as individuals. The crucial rhetorical issues of audience and purpose are focused by having students use their writing to do real work, both within the classroom and beyond it. The writing that evolves from this collaboration is then edited and evaluated by the group. In this emphasis on students' authority over the responsibility of the learning process, Teaching Writing That Works reflects current pedagogical concerns and philosophy. ---excerpt from book's back cover