A series of three experiments obtained objective measures of skilled and unskilled writing that was prepared in response to a potentially hostile audience. The principal differences between the two groups of writers were that skilled writers were far more likely than unskilled writers to go beyond the narrow constraints of the task, to generate…

A study investigated the composing process to examine why different types of instruction have different effects on composing products. The study contrasted three treatments: (1) presenting students with models (the traditional method); (2) the general procedures approach stressing freethinking process; and (3) a method stressing task-specific…

Writers and writing teachers should be wary of depending on readability indexes as indicators of the difficulty of written messages. The Gunning Fog Index and the Damerst Clear Index, two readability formulas, were used to determine the readability of "A Statement of Editorial Policy" and two abstracts appearing in an issue of…

A study investigated the effects of direct instruction in the process of revision on students' knowledge of the revision process, their ability to make revisions on paper, and the quality of their writing. Subjects, 30 sixth grade students, were divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received instruction in the…

This paper reviews the research on the social dimensions of literacy acquisition and use, and applies conclusions to the provision of improved literacy training for adults and young people with hearing impairments. Discussion of the social context of literacy considers the ethnography of communication, literacy as cultural practice, and literacy…

A study in college-level English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction investigated (1) whether or not there is any relationship between the strategic use of explicit grammar knowledge, including metalinguistic concepts, in an attempt to recognize error, and the actual correction of error and success in academic ESL; (2) whether or not certain…

Noting that conceptions of the cognitive representations and processes involved in discourse comprehension and production recently have undergone an important shift in orientation, this paper points out the importance of the shift to the conception of the nature of texts, of text understanding, and of cognitive processes in knowledge creation and…

Teaching literature as a basis for teaching writing affords a paradigm for teaching structure and meaning. While a truly integrated English department would put equal emphasis upon composition, language, literature, and reading, two-year college curricula have emphasized composition and challenged literature's place. A reader-based model for…