A study examined whether self-evaluation of writing should precede peer evaluation, and explored effective strategies for peer evaluation of writing. Seventy-six advanced placement English students in a Raleigh, North Carolina, high school were divided into experimental and control groups. The control group participated in peer evaluation of…

Reports on the application of six criteria to determine writing ability among secondary school students. Offers suggestions for instructing a class of students with wide variations in writing skill. (MM)

Noting that composition studies in the United States has devoted little attention to cross-national perspectives on student writing and its roles in wider cultural contexts, this book presents research studies from six nations (China, England, France, Germany, Kenya, and South Africa) on academic writing development in the dominant language of…

Hypothesizing that students choosing their own topics would produce significantly more writing, a study examined the writing sample length of 42 sixth grade students who had been divided equally into two treatment groups. Treatments were counterbalanced so that during the first writing period students in one group wrote on topics they had selected…

In order to help science students communicate more effectively with people outside their field, a two-semester technical writing course was developed with an emphasis on thinking rather than on blind adherence to the rules and forms of technical writing. The initial test group was composed of freshman science majors with exceptional writing…

Shows that, although peer editing groups are effective, they also have their limitations, and advocates instead the use of revision workshops as a practical alternative. Contains a checklist used in a revision workshop. (NKA)

A study examined the revisions made in expressive and persuasive compositions by 14 good and 14 average writers in grades 5, 7, and 11 to determine if grade- or ability-related differences occurred in the quality and kinds of revisions made and if revisions differed for the two types of compositions. Students wrote compositions one day and revised…

A research project investigated the development of narrative rhetoric in students in grades 3 through 8 in New York City public schools. Two types of tasks were used, the first requiring students to write a story about the events depicted in a drawing, the second asking them to correct rhetorical problems in prepared narratives. A series of…

A study was conducted to examine the effects of students' interests on their writing. A group of 571 high school seniors, fluent and nonfluent in writing, completed a questionnaire dealing with aspects of writing interest, such as subject, form, or voice. Tape recorded interviews addressing the same aspects were conducted with 11 fluent seniors…

An exploratory study examined gender differences in writing in the essays of five male and five female freshman composition students. The findings suggest parallels between the writing and speaking behaviors of men and women students and between student writing and the work of male and female professional writers. The male students made few…

Presents an Italian study of children assigned to write two persuasive appeals for funds. Reports that improvement on the second request was related to request features demonstrated between the two assignments. Concludes that training did have some effect, but both control and experimental groups improved in their second performances. (DK)

Designed to use recent research on revision activities and personal error analysis, a classroom study compared grades on papers written by students with and without specific instruction and practice in revising and proofreading techniques. Detailed statistical analyses of two writing assignments revealed no significant difference in grade…

Presents a continuation of previous research on a general development process consisting of successive levels in conceptualization. Explores how young children conceptualize the writing system. Considers both social background and preschool system of education. Concludes that teaching activities used in French nursery schools are less effective…