Describes various writing center issues and how they were foregrounded through the institution of a campuswide portfolio evaluation in the first-year writing program at the University of Southern California in fall of 1990. Shows the effect of the adoption of portfolio evaluation on the writing center's activities. (HB)

Examines two West Virginia writing centers and finds no significant difference in the writing quality growth of students taught by individualized instruction in writing centers and those taught by conventional classroom instruction. Finds that the writing center programs achieved the same gain at one-half the instructional cost. (RS)

For one graduate student administrator at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, some examples of what she considers to be teacher apathy are: complaints by the writing laboratory director that a teaching assistant (TA) was not using the recommended readings but a Nietzsche essay to have his students explore a contemporary political issue, and…

Argues that peer writing tutors must have a theory of reading that recognizes the dangers of readers' appropriating the writer's text by projecting or imposing their own ideological programs onto the text. (RS)

Examines the theoretical and pragmatic objections to first-year composition courses raised by recent abolitionists who are composition insiders. Assesses four frequently proposed alternative models of first-year composition. Discusses evaluating these alternatives from the perspective of a writing program administrator's dual roles of curriculum…

Describes Sentence Patterns, a software program designed to help teach sentence structure to college freshman composition students. Topics discussed include traditional teaching methods for the effective use of written language, software development, use in computer labs, and student surveys used for courseware evaluation. (LRW)

A study examined the effectiveness of a writing center in improving student writing. All Composition 121 instructors except those who taught in the writing center were included. Students (1519 were enrolled in 69 sections of Composition 121) and instructors were randomly placed into three groups: Group I, the experimental group; Group II, the…

A study was designed to ascertain the effect writing centers and peer tutoring have on the attitudes of student writers. Subjects, 121 students enrolled in either basic writing or English composition courses at Davis and Elkins College, had their attitudes toward writing measured. Over the semester the attitudes, of both those that did (43) and…

The idea-centered freshman composition program at Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, North Carolina, functions not only to meet the immediate needs of freshmen writers, but also to promote the aims of liberal education. The program has three interrelated goals: (1) to engage freshmen writers in "college thinking," defined as giving…

It does not take a computer expert to teach students how to use word processing software to prewrite, write, revise, and edit a professional-looking paper. Just a small amount of expertise allows students to work independently as long as they have access to a computer and the necessary software. The computer also facilitates interactive learning…

Presents an educational case study in which an English-as-a-Second-Language student brings a draft of his argument essay for freshman composition to a tutor in a university writing center. Presents a response that examines several ways in which the study has challenged an educator to think more deeply about beliefs. (SG)

An exploratory study investigated the relationship between students' achievement in and perceptions of a freshman composition course based on the collaborative skill rehearsal model. This model involves preparation for writing through rehearsal, in small group activities, of skills students will need to successfully complete their individual work.…

Warns against the new model emerging for first-year writing programs that puts dogma before diversity, politics before craft, ideology before critical thinking, and the social goals of the teacher before the educational needs of the student. Discusses how this model came about, the threat it poses to first-year courses, and new possibilities for…

Offers seven brief descriptions of class projects and assignments used successfully in writing classes of all sorts, from first-year composition classes to business communication to computerized writing labs. (SR)

As the writing instructors at Georgian Court College, Lakewood, New Jersey (a four-year, Catholic, liberal arts college), moved from the classroom to the computer lab, new classroom dynamics resulted in positive changes and challenges in both teaching and learning. The writing center is located in a newly renovated building and includes 15…