The Context
The Writing Instructor is a refereed, networked journal and digital community sponsored inter-institutionally by Purdue University and California State University, San Marcos. Published as a print journal until 1996 and making its digital debut in March 2001, TWI aims in its new format to bring much-needed coherence to the broad and influential developments in the teaching of writing that have occurred over the past twenty years, with the aim of setting the stage and marking a precedent for the future of writing instruction as a pedagogical and scholarly enterprise conducted in a variety of media for a diverse constituency across a wide range of venues. To accomplish this goal, we hope to take advantage of the many resources available to us as our field manifests itself in the digital space of the Internet. TWI’s Editorial Board consists of distinguished teachers and scholars in the field, with expertise in the teaching of writing at all levels of instruction, from K-12 through college.

The Topic
“It is by examination of the past that we divine and judge the future,” wrote Aristotle. To celebrate its resurrection twenty years after it was founded, TWI’s digital debut will include invited reflections from noted scholars on our discipline’s recent past, live chats, video interviews, and an online conference. We also announce an open call for essays, reviews, letters, viewpoints, model exercises, hypertext projects and other media on the topic of “The Future of Writing Instruction.” To borrow Joyce Carol Oates’s phrasing in her characterization of the Elvis/Dylan watershed moment, we ask, in short, “Where are we going, and where have we been?”

Possible topics include but are not limited to the following general areas (in nonhierarchical order):

* The Evolution of Process and Post-Process Models of Composing
* Gender Issues in the Teaching of Writing
* The Continuing Relevance of Rhetoric and Its History for Writing Instruction
* Multicultural Issues in Writing Instruction
* New Strategies for Teaching Writing
* Writing Center Theory and Practice
* The Politics of Writing Instruction
* Writing in the Digital Age
* Oral Historiography
* The Role of First-Year Composition in the University
* Second Language Writing
* Communication Across the Curriculum
* K-12/College Articulation
* Visual Communication and Rhetoric
* The Convergence of Media in the Writing Classroom
* New and Re-Articulated Research Methodologies in Writing Instruction
* The Role of the Writing Program Administrator
* Teacher Training
* Writing Outcomes
* Who Teaches Writing and Why?
* Writing Instruction in 2020
* Writing, Reading, and Literacy
* Multimedia Writing

Format
The rapid emergence of electronic publication and networked communities makes for a bewildering array of possibilities and challenges for writing instructors. Our worlds have become wider and more complex, not simply because of theoretical developments in the field, but because the media for expressing and sharing them have become vastly dispersed in new technologies; the demands on student writers, more varied; information about the teaching of writing, more readily available; the function of writing and communication in the digital world, perhaps less certain but just as critical for human relations as ever. With this in mind, TWI provides digital spaces for activities and entities such as the following:

* Refereed Projects: research articles, hypertexts, and other media that bridge writing theory and practice; discuss from historical and theoretical perspectives the discipline’s past and future; or explore or display the role and status of the writing instructor. (~6,000 - 11,000 words)

* From and For the Classroom: classroom practices and assignments. (Up to 1,500 words)

* Reviews: text and hypertext reviews of books, journal issues, web projects, and other and media relevant to writing instruction. (~1,000 - 5,000 words)

* Viewpoints: commentary on the nature of writing and writing instruction. (Up to 2,000 words)

* Readers Comment: letters and comments on TWI articles, projects, or events. (Up to 500 words)

* Ask the Professor, WPA, Writing Center Consultant, or Student. (Up to 500 words)

* Interviews: text or video interviews with noted writing instructors. (Contact us)

* Announcements and Calls for Papers. (Up to 250 words)

TWI does not have a specific word-length or node-number requirement, but we encourage you to keep the suggested length in mind as you prepare your submissions for review.

Submission Guidelines
Questions about the topic or the review process should be directed to Dawn Formo at editor@writinginstructor.com or by snail mail to The Writing Instructor, c/o Dawn Formo, Literature & Writing Studies Program, California State University, San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096-0001. Phone: 760.750.4199

Essays, reviews, letters, viewpoints, model exercises, hypertext projects, and other media submitted for consideration should be sent via e-mail (as a URL or an attached file) to David Blakesley at blakesle@purdue.edu. (Authors who submit by regular mail should include three copies of the printed material and a computer disk (in PC format, either 3.5” or 100 MB Zip) with the material in electronic format.) A cover letter/e-mail message should identify the author’s name and full contact information (including phone and fax numbers and e-mail and mailing addresses) Because all submissions are reviewed anonymously in a blind, refereed process, authors should make every attempt not to include identifying names in the text of the submission. Once a submission is accepted for publication, authors will be assigned to work with an online editor to prepare it for electronic publication.

Electronic submissions may be in HTML, Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or Acrobat format. When the submission includes images, video, or audio files, upload them to an FTP site or website, then submit the FTP address or URL to the editor. In all cases, a cover letter/e-mail should identify all technical information about the files being submitted (their format, size, etc.) If the submission includes multiple files (e.g., more than two), send them as a zipped file.

For additional information, recommended style guides, and length suggestions, review the Submission Guidelines at TWI’s website, http://www.writinginstructor.com or contact David Blakesley at help@writinginstructor.com; by mail at the Department of English, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; by phone at 765-494-3772; or by fax at 765-494-3780.

Submissions received by February 15, 2001 will have priority for the inaugural issue. Those received after February 15, 2001 will be considered for publication in an ongoing process of review.