Recording, narrative, exposition, and argument were hypothesized to present writing tasks of increasing cognitive and verbal complexity. This was investigated by obtaining writing samples in each mode from a stratified sample of 128 Australian sixteen year olds. The cognitive-complexity hypothesis was supported by data concerning the relative…

This dissertation describes a study of the Black English Vernacular (BEV) based on 350 compositions written in the college classroom by 42 black students from working class and lower class families in a predominantly white university. The correlation between certain extralinguistic variables and over 20 linguistic variables was examined. Although…

The purposes of this study were to identify the attitudes and behavior of teachers in an innercity secondary school toward language in general and nonstandard grammar in particular. Responses of the 18 member English department to a content-specific questionnaire and videotapes of 12 English classes, representing a sample of all grades and tracks…

The main research hypothesis of this study stated that when the universal characteristics of language evaluation are applied to the written language of the students in four fifth grades of varying racial composition, no significant differences would be reported. Two instruments were used: a composition and a series of six paragraphs modified by a…