The concept of self-efficacy is built upon the theory of Social Cognitive Learning by Bandura. Based on this theory, one could posit that an individual's belief on his/her self-efficacy at any given subject is of high importance. A body of research shows that people with high self-efficacy levels have higher performance levels. In parallel to…

Teaching scientific writing in biology classes is challenging for both teachers and students. This article offers and reviews several useful 'toolkit' items that instructors of science writing can use to improve college student success. The tools in this kit are both conceptual and practical, and include: (1) Understanding the role of student…

This research reports a study conducted at Koya University/English Language Department, and it aims at presenting the effect of scaffolding on EFL students' writing ability through the writing process. In this study, the students have taken the role of writers, so they need to follow the same steps that writers apply during their writing process.…

This paper focuses on planning a series of activities to train learners of undergraduate, non-philological studies in using a small specialised ad hoc corpus and the results they achieved in doing them. The procedure discussed in this paper is a part of a larger project which investigates the possibility of using a small specialised corpus with…

In the first edition of Writing for Publication: An Organizational Paradigm (Buttery, 2010), I recommend a model for organizing theoretical articles. The process includes seven components: title, introduction, outline/advanced organizer, headings, transitions, summary and references. This article will focus on the writing process. The strands of…

This paper outlines an adaptable collaborative writing approach employing a wiki to address the typical weaknesses of young Singaporean Chinese students learning Chinese as second language (L2) in Chinese writing. These students' problems in writing include limited and incorrect use of vocabulary, English-style grammar, badly structured passages,…

Examines the relationship between editors and writers and cites traits of a good editor, such as knowing language and knowing people and not giving writers more suggestions in one sitting than they can handle. (DF)

Examines the steps in the process of editing a manuscript and discusses the positive aspects of being an editor, such as being able to meet a wide variety of people and to learn about a range of subjects. (DF)

Proofreading can be tedious and boring, especially if it is approached as correcting errors. But proofreading is not correcting errors so much as reviewing the paper for ideas and for readability. Sometimes classmates can help a student proofread--they can help assess the draft, propose some alternative solutions, and make some choices. This paper…

Makes suggestions for editing technical proposals. Discusses the marketeers, the hierarchy of hype, how to save days, managing story boards, expediting a laborious process, teaching engineers to write, writing incrementally, the art group, and the editing task. Argues that the best proposals come from starting to write early. (SR)

Strategies for strengthening the writing skills of accounting students include the following: beginning with critical thinking as a prerequisite to effective writing; teaching the elements of composing and editing; and using "microthemes" assignments. (SK)

Describes working with multiage elementary school students on demand writing--writing to meet deadlines. Discusses why to teach it, practical applications, what teachers need to know before beginning instruction, getting started, introducing demand writing, modeling it, teaching beginnings and endings, and revising and editing/proofreading. (SR)

Advocates the practice of peer editing in primary and secondary schools and offers three workable strategies for using students as editors: role playing, comments on the pages, and face-to-face critiques. (DF)

In preparing students for business writing, a technical writing class should foster (1) a sensitivity to audience and an understanding of the business or technical organizational audience, (2) analytical problem solving that precedes any but the simplest writing task, (3) understanding of the patterns of organization that make information clear to…

Interviews Ron Padgett, editor and writer, about his attitude toward editing, his views on allowing students to edit writing, and his experiences with having his own writing edited. (DF)