In spite of the growth in popularity of sentence combining over the last 20 years, few teachers use it in technical writing classes, either because the exercises are inappropriate or because teachers fear that sentence combining will teach students to write longer rather than better sentences. Sentence combining can, however, teach technical…

In this study, the effect of a passage organizer (topic sentence) on the ability to identify main ideas was tested. The second purpose of this study was to determine whether main idea comprehension is affected by the type of main idea question asked. Thirty third- and thirty fourth-grade children selected on a random basis from a semi-rural…

The purpose of this study to determine if information high in the logical structure of a passage tends to be recalled better than information low in the structure. Two groups of 24 Cornell undergraduates participated in the experiment. Subjects in each group read and recalled three passages. Group one read the Breeder Reactor High, Schizophrenia…

Supports a reader oriented theory of paragraph writing. Discusses the readers' expectations of paragraphs and supporting research, demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of the most popular current model of paragraph structure, demonstrates the power of rhetorical paragraph writing, and details the pedagogical implications of the…

Presents step-by-step instructions to help developmental writing students write a cohesive essay by combining individually written paragraphs. (HTH)

The use of the paragraph is recommended in teaching composition, provided that heuristic rather than mechanical techniques are used. Some such techniques for advanced level teaching are discussed. (RM)

Paper written at a linguistic workshop held at Nasuli, Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Philippines, May-July 1971, and conducted by Joseph E. Grimes (Cornell Univ.) and the Summer Institute of Linguistics; research partially funded by National Science Foundation. (DD)

A discussion of how one perceive YsI form versus formlessness in discourse." (Author/RD)

The author outlines a method for developing free composition skills and describes how this method has been used in secondary schools in Kenya. (FWB)

An evaluative review of Francis Christensen's generative rhetoric theory and its application to teaching freshman composition. (DS)

Writing samples were analyzed for syntactic maturity, productivity and word selection; for conventions such as tense and number markers and number agreement; and for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Only spelling performance proved significantly different in favor of low achievers. (Author)

Illustrates a method of helping students learn to write paragraphs and to organize their writing using a group writing technique. (TJ)

In the context of classroom communication, there is a premium on the clarity of the message, and instructors will typically employ multiple linguistic cues to highlight information structure. Using a model of intonation in discourse [Brazil, D. (1986). "The communicative value of intonation in English." Birmingham, England: University of…