Several barriers hinder students from producing clear and impactful written work. Writing assignments are often given on an individual basis, similar to homework, and without any assistance. Students in a classroom context have access to both their classmates and the teacher while they are working in groups or pairs as part of their assignments.…

The current study investigates the applications of the pinyin input system, a Chinese word processing method, for writing on Facebook in order to help CFL (Chinese as a foreign language) learners from two Irish universities to improve their handwriting in Chinese characters on paper. The data were collected from writing activities conducted over…

Includes five teaching suggestions: "From Marvell to Tennyson to Eliot: Or Are You a Prufrock or a Ulysses?" by Bill Shaw; "Attendance and Contact Records," by Kaye E. White; "Viewer Mail," by Paul Hunter; "Electronic Journal," by James W. Smith; "Responding to a Need-for-Advice Question," by John…

A five-part computer program helps college students generate essays. Its first part, a list generator, forces students to consider a number of subjects and to select one that is reasonably defined. The second part of the program asks a series of questions to elicit information about the chosen topic and to shape the information into appropriate…

Generally, there are three kinds of software that could be used in college writing courses: word processing programs, interactive questionnaires, and text parsers. Although the benefits of these programs are well known, they still pose some problems. Word processors, for example, have been designed to "process" existing text; few have…

Explains how computers can be used in the journalism class for a variety of writing exercises. (FL)

Describing a computer network communication tool which allows users to communicate concurrently across networked, advanced-function workstations, this guide presents information on how to use the Center for Educational Computing in English (CECE) Talk in the writing classroom. The guide focuses on three topics: (1) introducing CECE Talk to…

The English department at the University of Cincinnati recently initiated an experimental writing course for developmental students who used Apple IIc computers and the Bank Street Writer (BSW) word processing program. BSW was chosen because of its overall simplicity, efficiency, and accessibility. The first two weeks of the course consisted of…

This pamphlet presents a range of software packages and activities for primary English teachers to use in the writing classroom. The ideas outlined in the pamphlet are designed to support writers in the various stages of the writing process within the context of a rich writing environment. The activities outlined in this pamphlet are designed for…

Notes that flowcharting can be used to help college developmental writing students to think through the logical steps involved in writing. (FL)

Suggest some ways in which computer assisted instruction can be designed to help freshman college students learn the conventions and grammatical forms of standard written English. Some specific instructional design considerations are discussed and the advantages of computer assisted instruction are outlined. Six figures and a reference list are…

An experiment tested two software packages, Master Max and Yourturn, in a real learning environment and suggested one possible way of integrating the computer into the language classroom. It is argued that for secondary education the computer's "tool function" is most important, giving more practical emphasis to second-language learning.…

This description of "Introduction to College Composition," a credit-bearing developmental writing course offered by the Community College of the Finger Lakes, provides an overview of the writing, grammar skills, and reading components of the course. Introductory information indicates that the course adopts a process-oriented approach to…

This annotated bibliography contains 28 references on the ways writing can be used in the study of literature and ways in which literature can be utilized to foster invention in students' writing. The bibliography contains citations from the period between 1982 to 1989 and is divided into three sections. The first section includes strategies,…

QUILL, a set of microcomputer-based writing activities for students in grades two through twelve, is based on the recent research on the composing process. To help students become more experienced writers, QUILL includes two tools for writing: a planner, which helps students plan and organize their pieces, and a writer's assistant or text editor,…