Written corrective feedback (WCF) is an instructional strategy used to help second/foreign language (L2) learners improve their writing effectiveness. Teachers can design and provide WCF across a number of dimensions such as focus (e.g. grammar, organization, content), type (e.g. direct correction, reformulation, comment), and tone (e.g. negative,…

Explores how graphic symbols came to represent underlying linguistic constituents. It is suggested that the relationship between speech and writing may be just the opposite of what is traditionally assumed. Writing systems may provide the concepts and categories for thinking about the structure of speech rather than the reverse. (47 references)…

Studies the fate of scientific observations as they pass from original reports intended for scientific peers into popular accounts aimed at a general audience. (FL)

Asserts that basic writers must learn to consciously manage written patterns to become better writers. Reviews six studies focusing on lexical and syntactic differences between written and spoken English, and suggests focal points for teaching writing patterns to basic writers. Examines two case studies which demonstrate writing pattern…

Reviews what recent research into speaking-writing relationships has to say about a particular problem of unskilled writers--those who tend to write as if they were talking. Examines the differences and interdependence of oral dialogue and written monologue. (RL)

There has been a shift of emphasis in research on the teaching of writing. The focus changed from the products of writing to writing processes. This has strong implications for instruction. Writing curriculum should be based on the organization of the cognitive processes involved in writing skills. (Author/VM)

Surveys research on role of audience in discourse in a series of related disciplines, including cognitive psychology, composition, speech communication, rhetoric, and philosophy. Concludes that writing teachers can achieve a sophisticated, complex understanding of nature and role of audience in written discourse only if they are aware of both…

The definition of progress as applied to writing research and practice is examined, and three different approaches to understanding the writing of exceptional children are considered: a literal approach, an interpretive approach, and an evaluative approach. The scientific and social implications of each of the approaches are considered.…

Ninth grade remedial readers at a suburban Chicago high school were given a language development program which included reading while listening to tapes and lessons in syntactic manipulation. Analysis of program effects showed that students improved their ability to understand and manipulate syntactic structures. Reading did not improve markedly.…

Offered as an introductory guide to teachers interested in approaching written English as a "second dialect" that students must master, this review covers quantitative investigations of written language. The first section deals with developmental studies, describing how a variety of researchers have related written structure to writer maturity.…

Explores the social meaning of literacy in communities and suggests that elementary teachers can enhance literacy learning by linking writing instruction to the culture of the community as well as to the functions served by writing in the community. (SKC)

Exploring writing in its many social and cultural variations, the seven articles in the first part of this book show different genres of writing serving various purposes in diverse contexts, while the six articles in the second part examine the effects of oral language differences on the learning and teaching of writing. Topics covered in the…

Research conducted since the early 1970s has provided important insights into how written language develops and how teachers can best foster that growth. One of these promotes the holistic approach to language instruction--to nurture the emergent speller is to nurture the emergent reader, writer, speaker, listener, and thinker. Another important…

To support arguments for an integrative approach to the study of writing, this report summarizes past and current trends in writing research and the resulting implications. The introduction discusses pre-1970s, 1970s, and 1980s research trends, noting that current research focuses on the context in which writing takes place and points out the…

The proceedings of a conference designed to give researchers and educators the opportunity to discuss issues affecting public education, this report opens with a description of the Research and Development Exchange Coordinating Group's initial efforts to address teacher concerns in oral and written communication instruction. It then lists…