Marcus Fabius Quintilian’s advice for the acquisition of a good writing ability ap­pears nowadays of surprising educational interest and is helpful to reconsider the value of cultural and educational capacity of writing, too often reduced to a secon­dary function compared to learning other subjects considered as a priority. In the In­stitutio (Book x), the author’s stated aim is the conquest of the firma facilitas, that is a specific expressive skill, difficult to achie­ve, the result of long years of study and training, accompanied by a constant exer­cise. Quintilian’s writing teaching method is, therefore, a serie of practical precepts, illustrated with expository clarity and bril­liance of images that make his work a pla­stic example of ars scribendi.

Key words: writing, exercise, rhetoric

The aim of this article is to unroll the de­vicies of the teaching of reading-writing and its influence on the quality of learning during the preparatory practices. In view of research work “Lire-écrire au Cours préparatoire”, coordinated by Roland Goigoux and backed by the French Min­istry of National Education and the French Institute of Education, the objective will be to produce new knowledge about the characteristics of effective teaching prac­tices, particularly for socially less advan­taged students. Infact, initial learning for those pupils are more dependent on the educational intervention. The investiga­tions focus on ordinary experienced teach­ers observed in situ analysis grains defined in line with the objective of the research work.

Key words: effective teaching practices, reading-writing, learning, preparatory course students

Most of all a teacher cares to transmit knowledge and teach concepts. In this article, on the contrary, the author is particularly interested in her students’ world of feelings and emotions. She plans, therefore, a series of writings which encourage her students to express the world of emotions that they feel in and out of school.

Key words: emotions, writings, the world of feelings

“Writing and nature” represents a stimulating couple, on which the author offers some reflections regarding the different ways of writing about environment and natural phenomena, according to genre: poem, novel, autobiography, poetic prose. The author dwells on three points: firstly, nature still exists, notwithstanding the spread of built landscapes on the one hand and the gravity of various forms of pollution on the other hand; secondly, nature may be fully experienced today, from wildlife up to urban realities; finally, nature itself brings a kind and a value of beauty which is irreplaceable.

Key words: nature, writing, beauty

At first, the article focuses on the re­lationship between words and images, between photography and writing; then, providing historical, cultural, and artistic references, it considers the photography as an element of stability and – voluntary or involuntary – alteration of the memory ma­terials. It lets to the reader the instructional and educational implications.

Key words: image, photography, writing

Usually you imagine the writer in a secluded place, away from everyday life; Raffaele Nigro instead tells how he writes his pages spending the day full of professional commitments and multiple looks that he takes at the world he inhabits. But Raffaele Nigro lives is a “different world”.

Key words: day, story, imagination