This article argues that the goal of an educator is to help students realize they can be effective writers by giving them the ability to demonstrate their skills. Scene writing can make writing seem less like a chore and more like an opportunity to express ideas. As students write scenes that include both dialogue and action, they gain a deeper…

The writing across the curriculum movement has rightfully gained recognition as a transformative force in how teachers conceive of, use, and assign writing in their classes throughout various disciplines. Drawing on data from the first three years of an ongoing study of faculty "WAC fellows" at a large, comprehensive state university,…

In this study, we assessed small and large group discussions and repeated writing assignments with the intent to objectively measure the values of these learning pedagogies. We crafted a model where students researched a question, formulated a written answer, discussed it with their peers, and revised their answers. Then, we did it with repetition…

The University of North Dakota possesses an archive containing the schoolwork, writings, and artworks of 32 children. In a study, all of the fiction and poetry of three of the children were gathered, as were teachers' descriptive records and examples of the children's drawings. It can be concluded from a study of the randomly selected children…

Describes a freshman honors writing course in which students submit research papers and then write letters to the teacher about the experience. Identifies four concerns raised by students: (1) managing time; (2) managing the topic; (3) integrating sources; and (4) following a structure. Concludes that peer interaction is a valuable resource for…

Examines the effectiveness of two writing-to-learn formats in helping developmental students master biological information and in decreasing writing anxiety. Objective measures showed a small but significant decrease in writing anxiety over the quarter, unrelated to writing format. Writing format also had little effect on content knowledge, based…

In this author's research, the question of whether it makes sense to think of writing primarily as a generic skill acquired increasing urgency as she gathered qualitative data for a study of the relationship between instructors' expectations in the design of writing assignments and the students' thinking as evidenced both in their essay responses…