نبذة مختصرة : This paper presents a writing exercise that the author uses in his technical writing courses. The purpose of the exercise is to: (1) convince students that their ideas have value; and (2) teach higher order thinking skills--specifically, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The author relates his own college experience, noting the fact that only two of his professors ever encouraged him to publish his writing. The author argues for planting the seeds of belief in writing ability early in a student's career. The writing exercise series begins with a magazine article analysis that focuses on purpose and audience, as well as article organization, tone, and vocabulary. After analyzing the article, students create an annotated bibliography of 3-5 additional articles. Finally, the students select a publication they like, and, using lessons learned from the previous exercises, write an article that could be published in that magazine. The author suggests that students look for publications that apply to their majors. In the end, the author argues, it is not as important to be published as it is to help students to realize that their ideas do have value, and that they are entitled to develop a writerly voice. (NB)
ملاحظات : Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Institute for Staff & Organizational Development (24th, Austin, TX, May 26-29, 2002).
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