Discourse analysts are concerned with how language both reflects and constructs the social world. As a field of study, there are scores of books, journals, and conferences devoted to the theoretical and methodological issues among the varieties of discourse analysis. Less discussed in the field of discourse studies is how one learns to become a…

Discusses the derivation and use of several Spanish figures of speech featuring animals--the ox, the cow, the calf and the bull. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

Discusses how words function with regard to the reality they represent. Claims that, generally, people substitute descriptions of reality for reality. (JD)

Author believes that all forms of communication are enhanced by the use of similes and he writes the entire article in similes to prove it. (RB)

This report describes the development of grade norms for timed-writing performance in two modes of writing: persuasive and descriptive. These norms are based on objective and automatically computed measures of writing quality in grammar, usage, mechanics, style, vocabulary, organization, and development. These measures are also used in the…

How to use old magazine and newspaper pictures to help students learn to write realistic dialogue and speeches that characterize. (RB)

Confronts the challenges of getting young actors to embrace the use of language. Presents a series of exercises designed to expose students to the potential power of the spoken word by using three different kinds of texts: advertising copy, children's storybooks, and the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Discusses how the author engages his…

The investigators recommended that in view of the similarity in the results across ethnic and SES backgrounds, that the high-frequency words identified in the investigation be among the first words students learn to spell and write. (Authors)

In a study conducted to examine the impact of language choice on cognitive complexity (the number of constructs in a person's interpersonal construct system), 93 undergraduate students completed a role category questionnaire that asked each subject to write a description of two people they knew. In one case that description was to be of a…

Proposes a heuristic to generate specific and vivid phrasing and to draw on the right hemisphere of the brain for the substance of the essay. Describes stages of process as DRAW (Delineate, Ruminate, Analogize, and Write). Emphasizes creative description and expressive language rather than generation of ideas. (JG)

The establishment and role of the Writing Center at Harvard is described as a means of improving freshmen writing skills. Students receive personal consultation, attend a series of mini-courses, and participate in a series of lectures by faculty members from different departments about how to write for various disciplines. (LBH)

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the writing of elementary children, grades four through six, to determine the relationship between specified genre and the development and use of figurative language. Three teachers, one each in grades four, five, and six in the Metropolitan School District of Perry Township, Indiana, collected…

The back-to-basics movement and arguments by its proponents are examined with emphasis on proficiency in writing skills. Composition course requirements are discussed along with the need of instructors to teach semantic and logical skills. (LBH)

The study examined 41 students (24 male, 17 female) in a beginning writing course for adults. Data were collected by (1) taping four workshop sessions in which all students participated in small groups, (2) interviewing all the students, and (3) observing four students writing in the classroom. The adult writers composed in two models: the…

The practicing writer encounters four determinants of his use of prose. First, the language itself determines the expression: English, with its wealth of words and styles and with few traditional restrictions, provides problems of choice and temptations to overwrite. Second, the application of verse forms to the novel and a demand for consistently…