This handbook is one of a set of six which provide a systematic means to help students in grades 4 through 8 learn the process of writing while building specific writing skills. The handbook focuses on notetaking and outlining skills, and offers 25 reproducible lessons, in a variety of formats, which give students practical experience in…

To incorporate Robert Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" into a course on writing may be to subvert the author's purpose. Pirsig meant for his book to be read aimlessly--like a Zen experience whose goal is only realized after it is achieved. Pirsig might even object to the "teaching" of "Zen and the…

This paper explores the nature of a fifth/sixth grade New York City teacher's image of good writing, its effect on teacher-student interactions, and its influence on students. These three aspects are interwoven through a discussion of writing from personal experience, selecting a particular form for a specific audience, and including elements of…

Writing teachers and theorists face political and pedagogical dangers because of their increasing tendency to align themselves against each other on the side of either rhetoric or composition. As the differences between the two schools widens, writing teachers stand to lose political ground in English departments and their students stand to lose…

To clarify the relevance of Russian psychologist, literary critic, philologist, and educational theorist Lev S. Vygotsky's research to composition theory necessitates an examination of his account of the development of inner and oral speech. Vygotsky argued that the acquisition and development of oral speech is due to its function: it is primarily…

Examines the attitudes of students to several aspects of the writing process. Concludes that the process approach to writing improved students' attitude toward composition. (SRT)

Proposes a creative writing workshop model to shift the focus from the product of writing--the finished poem or story--to the process of writing by engaging students in the imitation of writing processes used by published writers. (MS)

A study examined the effect of a structured writing process on student comprehension during a year-long classroom writing workshop. Subjects included 10 sixth-grade students of average reading and writing comprehension who completed an initial writing survey as well as quarterly writing behavior self assessments and writing evaluation conference…

A longitudinal case study examined the writing development of two children who learned to write in "process writing" classrooms in Australia. Results of participant observation in K-3 classrooms suggest that choices made in language are not free but are constrained by social and cultural contexts, including the ideology of gender in the…

Describes the five-step writing process used in a holistic secondary school writing program: brainstorming, outlining, drafting/revising, peer editing, and writing a final copy. Discusses the writing process, the teacher-student relationship, collaborative learning, and student evaluation. (PRA)

Warns against a complete reliance on the "writing process approach" in writing instruction, stressing that not all writers rely on rewriting and revision and that emphasis on group response does not necessarily lead to effective writing. Argues that the process approach discourages modeling and the use of well-known rhetorical patterns. (DMM)

Examines the philosophy behind development of two team-taught courses in scientific writing: one for first-year students, the second for advanced students preparing for graduate and professional careers in science. Using student self-evaluations, course evaluations, and anecdotal evidence, chronicles some strengths and weaknesses of our ten-year…

This study looks at a specific application of Ainsworth's conceptual framework for learning with multiple representations in the context of using multiple sequential graphic organizers that are student-generated for a process-writing task. Process writing refers to writing that consists of multiple drafts. It may be a process of re-writing without…

A study examined the growth in basic writing and grammar skills of 14 developmental English students. The study determined whether a traditional rule-based, form-centered mode of instruction, combined with a limited writing-process approach, had any significant impact on overall writing quality and grammar skills. It used a quantitative,…

A practicum developed and implemented a program to help change students' negative attitude toward writing, with the conviction that if students enjoy writing they will write more and produce writing that clearly communicates their ideas. The practicum's objectives were for 50% of the targeted students to: (1) write for at least 15-20 minutes at a…