Analyzes the writing processes of a businessman-engineer and discovers that not all of the generalizations about composing are borne out in the way the subject writes. (FL)

Reports on a study in which college students wrote compositions that elicited their technical knowledge of three topics, then completed a questionnaire that assessed which of four information sources had contributed to their knowledge of the topics--formal education, mass media, social interaction, and direct experience. (FL)

During a year-long ethnography in a workplace setting (a non-profit job and literacy training agency), a study examined how managers learned new genres required in their jobs. There were 2 research questions: (1) what are the specific aspects of a genre to be mastered for effective written communication? and (2) what is the developmental process…

Outlines two hypotheses about the reasons for obscurity in expository writing and notes that neither accounts for the general results of an exploratory study of the writing of postgraduates nor for the individual cases presented. Argues that a crucial factor is a person's implicit model of expository writing. (FL)

Noting that although a great deal of empirical research has been done to investigate the writing rules commonly taught, this paper points out that no one has yet constructed a deep theory of the relationship between cognition and writing that confirms the writing rules and explains how they work. The paper then uses theories and research in the…

Describes a study that explored the collaborative writing processes of a group of business executives over the course of a year as they prepared a vital company document. Shows how context affected the writers' conceptions of their rhetorical situations and their writing behavior and how the rhetorical activities influenced the structure of the…

A study was conducted to determine the efficacy of two prewriting strategies--outlines and rough, rather than polished, first drafts--in lessening the writer's workload. Eighteen college students were assigned a persuasive business letter writing task in control, outline, rough first draft, and polished first draft conditions. The letters were…

Describes a laboratory course in developmental psychology as an example of teaching undergraduate students thinking and writing skills. Lists different written and oral communication employed: scientific experimental report writing, sequential and topical protocols of infant behavior, blooper examination responses, and oral presentations.…

The "informal process" for writing reports, which incorporates the mechanics of textbook theory but emphasizes the composition process, may be more successful for teaching fifth graders how to write reports than the traditional approach. This process recommends a number of nontraditional teaching methods. Student choice of topic should…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 27 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) syntax in the writing of learning disabled and normal children; (2) tropes, invention, and the composing process; (3) speaking and writing relationships in…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) reasoning strategies used by gifted and average fifth grade children in written discourse; (2) the effect of mode of discourse on the syntactic complexity of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 25 titles deal with a variety of topics including the following: (1) the effects of a heuristic prewriting model on eleventh-grade students; (2) a writing-across-the-curriculum program at a small liberal arts university; (3) a…