A study was conducted to compare the writing performance of tenth grade students across three modes of discourse. Subjects were 80 students who had been classified as "masters" or "nonmasters" of writing based on their scores on the writing section of the Texas Assessment of Basic Skills. The students were assigned three…

Prepared as part of a project designed to provide an objectively measured indication of the quality of student writing in one school district, this paper examines argumentative and narrative essays written by students at the fifth, eighth, and twelfth grade levels. The first section of the paper discusses the primary analysis of student writing…

The relationship among writing assessment strategies which may be applicable to competency based testing was examined in a study involving 128 high school students in six English classes in grades 11 and 12. Each student wrote two essays of at least 200 words on topics designed to test expository, or explanatory writing, and completed an objective…

This discussion attempts to acquaint parents with the reasons for teaching writing in grades 1-12 and with some of the processes by which teachers guide students in learning to write. Specific topics include the practical need for writing, the differences between written and spoken languages, the ways children learn to write, the topics they write…

This discussion attempts to acquaint parents with the reasons for teaching writing in grades 1-12 and with some of the processes by which teachers guide students in learning to write. Specific topics include the practical need for writing, the differences between written and spoken languages, the ways children learn to write, the topics they write…

In this study, an analysis of the various theories of creativity was made to formulate guiding principles for teaching "creative rhetoric" in the secondary schools. The following basic assumptions were made: (1) Rhetoric is concerned with man's problems. (2) Rhetoric is a synthesis of the imaginative and rational processes. (3) Acts of rhetoric…

Teachers should resist external pressures, such as the British fifth-form examination, which dictate the content and teaching methods of their classes. Instead, teachers should endeavor to keep literature, language, and composition integrated; to emphasize class and group discussions; to find topics that interest pupils, not examiners; to…

Compared to regular freshman composition textbooks, materials for advanced instruction in English as a foreign language are unsubstantial. An examination of EFL tests reveals the triviality of much of the content, particularly in comparison with the sophistication and significance of literature taught to native speakers. In addition, some EFL…

Discusses a method for involving students in topics so that research evolves from a desire to know. Describes using response group discussion about real life problems to find topics, freewriting loops, and class presentation before and during research. Reports positive atmosphere and interest. (JG)

Presents an experimental primary trait rubric designed to assess a writer's support for an argument, and structured as an eleven-cell grid on which a rater can plot a student's score. Describes the grid, and its use in a study of 1,892 eleventh-grade essays. Also describes ways to use the grid to teach invention and arrangement. (JG)

Examines the effect of raising university students' awareness of term paper conventions through formal instruction in L2 on producing this genre in the same language or another language (L1). Results indicate that, although formal instruction is important, variations in professors' evaluation of these aspects are the main factor affecting whether…

This article explores the writing opportunities provided to Spanish-speaking and mandarin speaking English Language Learners at the fourth and fifth-grade level across the various classroom settings in which they participated daily: an all-English speaking classroom, an English-as-a-second language (ESL) classroom, and a native-language classroom.…

Designed to help college instructors of media writing choose appropriate audiovisual materials for a basic course, this annotated bibliography presents 26 entries that cover diverse aspects of journalism. Films cited cover topics from the technical and legal aspects of journalism to television newswriting and police reporting. Citations are…

To evaluate composition programs based on peer feedback, a study compared the improvement in written composition skills of two sets of eighth grade students in 11 classes at eight Dutch schools. The control group was enrolled in teacher feedback programs, the experimental group was enrolled in peer feedback programs. Students wrote a discursive…

A practicum was conducted to develop critical thinking and improve expression through creative written language utilizing precision teaching as an evaluation of student performance. Six students (grades second through sixth) with low idea generation and few organization skills were trained by three teachers and a teacher advisor using…