Eight classes (140 students) in 10th- and 11th-grade were taught English composition using either an "errorless" or a "dialectical" method, each involving a model paragraph. The progress of the students was examined using the STEP and Composition Rating Scales before and after the instruction. Significant changes in the students' scores occurred…

This paper discusses strategies for teaching college composition, emphasizing "mechanical-meaningful-communicative" (M-M-C) sequencing. Under the M-M-C sequence, a student performs the following exercises: mechanical exercises, which build success in stimulus-response learning; meaningful exercises, which provide stimuli for problem-solving tasks;…

A basic writing course designed for college freshmen who do not score high enough on entrance examinations to qualify for regular composition courses emphasizes the positive aspects of a student's writing. The nongraded course consists of four components: journal writing, grammar instruction, in-class paragraph writing, and controlled composition.…

The first of a two-part discussion of an experimental program involving small group teaching in a mixed-ability secondary English class in Scotland, this report outlines the class organization and management techniques used during the program. It also contains an account of the culminating class activity, a group novel-writing project. Six…

The second of a two-part discussion of an experimental program involving small group teaching in a mixed-ability secondary English class in Scotland, this report extends and investigates more deeply some of the problems not dealt with in the first part of the report. Specifically, it analyzes the modes of assessment possible in this form of class…