Writing as one important skill in language proficiency demands validity, hence high schools are real places in which valid results are needed for high-stake decisions. Unrealistic and non-viable tests result in improper and invalid interpretation and use. Illustrations without any written research have proved their effectiveness in whatsoever…

Participants imagined, drew, and wrote about novel alien creatures (cf. Ward, 1994). Judges rated the creativity of the drawings alone, paragraphs alone, or drawings and paragraphs together. Much prior research has examined how participants rely on available exemplars and categorical knowledge in this task; here we focus on understanding why some…

Exploratory problem solving that utilizes self-educating techniques such as the evaluation of feedback to improve performance can be put to use in the composition classroom. Quantitatively evaluated prewriting exercises can help students in two ways: first, students learn to use procedures that can prepare them for more sophisticated devices;…

Describes four procedures commonly used to describe the content and structure of text: T-unit analysis, propositional representation, story grammars, and primary trait scoring. Discusses results of research regarding the procedures and their implications for instruction. (TJ)

The validity of the multiple-choice Sequential Tests of Educational Progress (STEP) Writing Test (1957) was tested by the University of Chicago Center for the Cooperative Study of Instruction. Seven criteria developed by the center to score essay assignments were used to determine the relationship between STEP and actual writing behavior. Of the…

The Florida Writing Enhancement Program, for all tenth through twelfth grade students, as implemented in the Hillsborough County Public Schools, was evaluated. The program was designed to improve students' writing in the areas of composition, sentence formation, usage, and mechanics. This evaluation was conducted to determine whether the program…

Intended for high school teachers of English and lay readers engaged in correcting student themes and improving student writing practices, these 24 essays are collected into four groups: (1) "The Audience: For Whom Does the Student Write?" (three essays), dealing with identifying an audience, defining terms, improving topic sentences, and teaching…

The program grew out of the desire of monolingual students, native bilingual students, and instructors for a class to meet the specific needs of Spanish-speaking students of Spanish. The objectives are: (1) to improve the self image of the students, (2) to increase access to the Spanish-speaking community of the world, (3) to use native bilingual…