The emerging field of composition research grew up around writing instructors hired to teach required courses in freshman composition. Scholars are interested in studying how writers compose, what they intend to express, and who they believe they are writing for. (MLW)

Discusses ethnographic research in education issues that pertain to studies of second-language writing, examining six principles of ethnographic research, proposing and describing a prototype definition, reviewing three recent ethnographic studies of second-language writing, discussing generalizability, and introducing a series of issues critical…

Without support, financial, organizational and otherwise, the U.S. national IEA writing study would never have been conducted; however, implementation of the study was difficult. Planning for the study and its support commenced in 1980, coterminous with two important occurrences: the National Institute of Education pulled back on its interest in…

A study of 110 graduate students in social science research found their writing experiences and habits were distinct from those of novice undergraduate writers; however, a minority of students reported writing difficulties which might hinder their academic achievement. Issues and problems related to research writing are examined. (GLR)

Examining the cognitive processes of reading-to-write as they are embedded in the social context of a college course, this introduction to and overview of the 11-part Reading-to-Write Project study focuses on the study as a whole by sketching the reading-to-write task as one of practical importance, as a window on how students integrate reading…