Concise yet comprehensive, this practical handbook summarizes important research in the teaching of composition and shows how to apply it in the classroom. In addition to covering such essential topics as linguistics, cognitive research, and the history of rhetoric, the author provides solid advice on teaching prewriting, sentence strategies, paragraphing, essay development, and revision. The book concludes with detailed chapters on assigning and evaluating student writing and on design in writing courses. The new edition has been substantially revised, bringing the material as well as the bibliography up to date with current scholarship.