like to use in his classes. When the representative asked Elbow if he was writing anything, Elbow replied that he had thought about trying to write something to do with teacher-less writing groups—a process he had experimented with while teaching courses for Harvard's extension program. Soon after, he had an advance to begin a book called Writing Without Tears, which would later become Writing Without Teachers. In the nearly 40 years since then, Elbow has written more than 10 books and over 100 articles on writing—theory and practice—and the teaching of writing. His most recent book is an ambitious treatment of writing, speaking, and the theory of written and spoken language: Vernacular Eloquence: What Can Speech Bring to Writing. Methods Freewriting Freewriting, a term commonly used by Elbow, coined by Ken Macrorie (who called it free writing), is a process of writing without stopping, without editing, without sharing, without worrying about grammar, without thinking, without rushing. Elbow suggests that writers write whatever they want and however they want for 10 to 15 minutes—daily. Normal freewriting can be adapted to focused freewriting and public freewriting. Focused freewriting involves trying to stay on a topic, which is particularly useful when a writer has a specific assignment to do. Public freewriting is for sharing, which makes it seem a little more risky. But it can be very useful in groups where good trust has built up. The goal is to create language that is more natural and lively, all the while making the writing process easier and more comfortable Criterion- and reader-based feedback Feedback techniques are also among Elbow's practices. These techniques, presented in Writing With Power, are divided into two types: criterion-based and reader-based feedback. Criterion-based feedback judges the writing against standard criteria, such as content, usage, organization, and general effectiveness. Elbow claims this is the kind of feedback that most people are used to giving and receiving. What Elbow says is quite useful about criterion-based feedback is that it allows the writer to reflect on her or his own writing as he goes along. It also allows her or him to recognize common troubles he has in writing so that he can avoid them in the future. In Writing With Power, Elbow gives a catalogue of criterion-based questions. These questions all stem from the following essential questions: What is the quality of the content of the writing: the ideas, the perceptions,