SLIPPERY ROCK — James Strickland, professor of English, said one way to make students write well is to have them write about what is important to them.

The tip is a valid one since it comes from the Exemplary Leadership Award winner from the Conference on English Leadership.

Strickland, 59, won the national award this fall. He has taught English for 37 years, including the past 23 years at Slippery Rock University.

On Nov. 20, Strickland spoke during the leadership conference in Nashville, Tenn. His speech, titled "Do It Write," included thoughts on the importance of teaching writing.

Having students write what is important to them is just one of these thoughts. Instead of having students create term papers, for example, he'll ask them to write a poem or a letter to a friend about their chosen topic.

"It's time to find a new way to report the information," he said.

Recently, Strickland wrote "Join the FAQs: An Alternative to Teaching the Research Paper," for the English Journal, which addresses the same problem. That paper encourages students to create "frequently asked questions," to report information instead of the traditional research paper.

Some of his other tips include:

• "One of the things you have to convince students of is that writing is powerful," he said. Words are powerful and they make a difference.

• "When you write, you discover what you think," he said. "You also create what you think."

• Students want to be good writers, according to Strickland. "They're not lazy or thoughtless," he said, but they don't like to write because "no one's taken the time to help them work through it."

When teachers have students write, the teachers need to be willing to do the assignment, as well. Strickland said he always does this, though he sometimes shares his work with students and sometimes doesn't.

"It's not only to understand the assignment but to show the value of what you're asking them to do," he said.

Strickland, who has a doctoral degree in rhetoric and linguistics from Indiana (Pa.) University, said he is pleased to work in the State System of Higher Education, especially at SRU.

"Most (universities) don't have full-time, tenure track teachers teaching all courses," he said. "Also, there is a real commitment to strengthening the writing program."

The Buffalo, N.Y., native didn't plan to stay at SRU for so long, but ultimately "fell in love with the place," and decided to make it home.

He's done in-service work to help train teachers all over the nation, including by telephone in Alaska and in person in Hawaii.

"I used to joke and think, it would be nice if the people from Hawaii would call me for a teacher in-service. Then they did," he said.

Strickland is nationally known for publications that include "The Subject is Writing," and "From Disk to Hard Copy: Teaching Writing with Computers." He also wrote "Engaged in Learning: Teaching English, 6-12," and three other books that are co-authored by his wife, Kathleen Strickland.

In addition, he has edited more than 20 books for Heinemann Educational Publishers, a job that he continues today.

The National Council of Teachers of English award is for a member who is an outstanding English language arts educator and leader, according to a release from the organization. The winner must produce work that has focused on exceptional teaching or leadership practices or contribute to the profession through involvement at both the local and national levels.

When he heard about the award in the fall, Strickland said his first instinct was to call his wife. She was waiting by the phone since the national council called home first.

His next thought went to his mother. On visits home after he was an adult, his mother asked him to bring whatever he was working on and she would read it while he was visiting friends, he said.

"I suddenly wished my mother was still alive," he said. "All through my life, she read everything I wrote. No matter what it was, she was interested."