Writing is an essential skill for success in many academic and professional settings. Despite receiving individualized feedback on their writing, many students struggle with writing in postsecondary education. This dissertation addresses this gap by focusing on the writing process--the moment-by-moment actions taken during writing--rather than the…

While the Common Core State Standards initiated the instructional shift that promoted technology to achieve a student-centered, process-oriented blended reading and writing classroom, the COVID-19 pandemic demanded innovative technology applications in K-12 public schools. This qualitative, phenomenological action research study explored the…

Every Child a Writer is a genre-based model of writing instruction promoted by the National Literacy Coalition. This paper reports on Colorado schools implementing the model. Statistical analyses of achievement patterns in implementing schools were compared to statewide achievement results. A student cohort design across multiple years was…

States that one liberating feature of modern writing centers is the way they oblige individuals to (re)examine conventional definitions. Argues that writing centers contribute to developments in writing pedagogy. Describes the WCCD (Writing Center Conference Diagnostic) test and how it is used in writing centers. Discusses success and failure in…

Intended for teachers and administrators, this collection of essays focuses on the dual meaning of practice--practice of writing skills, and teaching practices in composition instruction. The process section focuses on the types of activities that build composition skills. The product and program sections shift focus to professional practice, the…

Prewriting, writing, and revision represent vital elements in both the total writing experience and the evaluation of writing programs. An effective writing program should include (1) a written plan to guide composition instructors and ensure that students receive balanced instruction; (2) clearly stated purposes reflecting concern for composition…

Prepared as part of the evaluation of the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP), this report offers descriptions of promising practices in composition instruction. It explains the selection criteria and classification scheme used and describes practices in the following four categories: (1) structuring of writing programs, (2) teaching the elements of…

Evaluates a summer writing workshop and thanks the director and the state governor for initiating it. (NKA)

A study examined three recent language arts textbook programs for grades one through six to determine the frequency of writing activities, the nature of the writing tasks, and the frequency of process-approach activities such as selecting topics, prewriting, sharing, revising, and publishing. The programs analyzed were Scott, Foresman's "Language:…

The COMP-LAB, a CUNY-based writing course combining classroom instruction with an autotutorial writing laboratory for students deficient in standard written English, is described and evaluated in this assessment. The background and purpose of the project are discussed in the first two sections, prior to an extensive description of the project…

This final report summarizes an extensive evaluation of the COMP-LAB project, a course which integrates carefully defined classroom instruction with an autotutorial writing laboratory for teaching basic writing and rhetoric, particularly to students impaired by foreign language or nonstandard speech. Information on the project background and the…

Developed for two grade 8 English classes in a large metropolitan high school in British Columbia (Canada), this paper presents the procedures for implementing and evaluating a 6-week unit on lifewriting, the composing of stories based on personal experience. The Lifewriting Curriculum is provided--six lessons including activities in which…

Intended to serve as an introduction to a useful method of composition evaluation, this handbook provides a comprehensive checklist of many relevant topics and issues. The handbook begins with a discussion of the basic concepts of evaluation. The next chapter provides an overview of the components of a writing program as a background and context…

Intended for curriculum directors, English or language arts chairpeople, and administrators, this book is designed to illuminate the common beliefs and procedures of the National Writing Project, which have been developed with the support of Title IV-C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and state and local resources, by offering a…

Noting that American elementary schools over the years have emphasized reading to the detriment of writing, a study examined the efficacy of a writing program that places the student and the teacher in direct contact with the writing process by (1) requiring daily student writing and suggesting the teacher frequently write with the students, (2)…