The samples linked below illustrate my writing in a variety of genres. Some are academic, whether of the traditional kind (books, articles in professional journals), or else examples of other kinds of writing that academics must produce (grant proposals, conference paper abstracts, etc. - and even some recommendation letters that have greatly helped students). There are also newspaper articles, some creative non-fiction, reflections about my career, and even some poems.

You can find samples of other kinds of my professional work (conference presentations, technological projects) by returning to my main website and following the link "Projects & Publications" (or use this direct link).

Samples (and some free downloads) of my language learning software are at www.cosmolingua.pdx.edu.

Comments - CIVIL criticism and, of course, effusive praise - are welcome, so email me! I retain and will defend my copyrights - but don't much mind if you use my stuff as a model for your own writing. :-)

Article "Goethe and Schiller and Me: Reflections on Figuring out Literature While Teaching Others about It and Life Too in a Language They Don’t Talk Very Good Yet" (first and last pages). Teaching German in America: Past Progress and Future Promise, George F. Peters, ed., Cherry Hill, NJ: American Association of Teachers of German, 2002; ISBN: 0-924017-90-0. Also available at Amazon. Reflections (and practical observations) on a life of teaching German (and much else). Unorthodox enough, when submitted for publication, to be damned as "a pretty after-dinner speech", and yet praised very highly within the same batch of peer reviewers. One editor returned it with praise but declared himself just too scared to print it. Here's the first sentence: "My name is Bill. I'm a recovering Germanist."

Article "Not Just Lip Service: Systematic Oral Testing in a First-Year College German Program" (first page). Unterrichtspraxis (journal of the American Associate of Teachers of German), 1984.2 (Fall): 225-39. Here: first page. Got me the requests to write a textbook that in turn became the foundation of my career as a professional language teacher, assessment specialist, and software developer.

Article "Master('s) Voice: The Victor 9000 and High-Fidelity Voice Reproduction for CALI" (first page). CALICO Journal 3.4 (June 1986): 21-31.

Book The Empire Strikes Out: Kurd Laßwitz, Hans Dominik, and the Development of German Science Fiction (concluding chapter). Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1984. Available at Amazon.

Newspaper op-ed article "The legacies of lame ducks and dictators." The Oregonian, April 20, 2008. Disputes the comparison of Hitler and George W. Bush, common among the extreme Left.