This article argues composition researchers should make replicating previous research a greater priority because replication is a valuable tool that facilitates invention, collaboration, transparency, and revision, and its overwhelming absence in composition studies narrows the generalizability of writing research. I posit a replication agenda to…

In this essay I present the results of a national study of over 2,000 writing assignments from college courses across disciplines. Drawing on James Britton's multidimensional discourse taxonomy and recent work in genre studies, I analyze the rhetorical features and genres of the assignments and consider the significance of my findings through the…

In this article we provide a "portrait" of an exemplary writing teacher and the social construction of authority he established with students in two courses. The portrait demonstrates that teacher authority is most essentially a form of professional authority granted by students who affirm the teacher's expertise, self-confidence, and…

Reports on research that raises questions about traditional teaching formats used in writing instruction. Notes the effects of reducing class size--even at the cost of reducing course length. Urges more study of the patterns and rates of growth of different student populations. (RL)

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…

Examines the differences between peer response groups and writing tutorials. Gives a brief history of each, and discusses them in terms of determining goals, setting the agenda for collaboration, and methods. Offers some cautionary reminders. (SR)

Explores the difficulties writing teachers and students encounter with content area writing assignments, using observations and interviews from two social science classes. (HTH)

Examines two very different views of essay assignments and essay writing, both evident in the teaching of nineteenth-century Scottish rhetoricians. Comments on what these rhetoricians wrote to their students about the students' essays. Reveals no unanimity on composition activities and on what the rhetoric or composition class should include. (RL)

Surveys the composition scene both as a teacher and journal editor, finding positive improvements such as (l) enhanced professionalism of young composition teachers, (2) growth of graduate programs, and (3) improved course content and methods. Notes, however, that in spite of these improvements each teacher still needs to periodically assess the…

Suggests that using sociolinguistics as the subject of a semester-long course leads to real and exciting research rather than technically correct but lifeless "dummy runs" for real research in freshman composition courses. (MG)

Suggests that in addition to self-evaluation of individual papers, assessment of one's overall ability to write effectively also plays an important role in the writing process. Includes the results of a study indicating a strong relationship between writers' evaluations of their own general writing skills and the quality of their written products.…

Discusses criteria for choosing composition software. Poses six questions for further research in evaluating the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction in composition. (HTH)

Discusses the possibility that a writer's audience may be more malleable than it is normally assumed to be and describes how one researcher worked with several advanced college writers to learn more about the dynamics of their composing processes. Suggests that the use of these writing strategies may benefit both teachers and students. (JD)

Reports of research on using different patterns for connecting sentences. Shows the importance of applying insights from text linguistics to writing instruction. (RL)