The current volume aspires to add to previous research on the connection between writing and language learning from a dual perspective: It seeks to reflect current progress in the domain as well as to foster future developments in theory and research. The theoretical postulations contained in Part I identify and expand in novel ways the diverse…

A study aimed to increase understanding of how different writing-to-learn tasks invite the ways in which students construct meaning in writing from sources. The tasks used, writing either a report or a problem-based essay, required students to integrate prior knowledge with information from six textual sources in order to construct their own…

Analyzes synthesis essays of graduate students for the importance and origin of information and for the quality of key rhetorical moves. Confirms the interrelatedness of comprehension and composing processes and illustrates how writers, with varying levels of topic familiarity, use both their knowledge of disciplinary topics and their experience…

As a by-product of a study concerning how university level writers develop new genres of discourse, a study was undertaken to examine what factors or dimensions affect the composing process of university writers. Six undergraduate students at Carleton University in Ottawa participated, making available to researchers information about how they…

The first phase of a study into language learning examined six undergraduate students' building of disciplinary discourse knowledge as they became immersed in the disciplinary community of psychology. Students were followed over the entire 4-year course of their undergraduate careers. Data included interviews, questionnaires, papers the students…

Examines four topics in composition research that are pertinent to journalism instruction: writing as process, writing across the curriculum, modes of instruction, and dealing with errors. (FL)

Examines how school writing tasks (notetaking, answering study questions, and essay writing) interact with three measures of learning (recall, concept application, and gain in passage-specific knowledge). (HOD)

Intended for teachers, this bibliography contains 30 brief reviews of recent books on the theory and practice of teaching writing. The first section, on theory, focuses on "Famous Last Words, The American Language Crisis Reconsidered" (Harvey A. Daniels); "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" (Betty Edwards); "The Role…

A study examined how college students wrote a critique of a sociology article; which features of written critiques were valued most by professors in the discipline; and whether students' educational level and status predicted the quality of their critiques. Subjects, 32 students enrolled in an upper-level sociology course, read and responded by…

Most of the 24 books reviewed in this annotated bibliography concern writing and are recent publications (1980-1985). Titles and authors are as follows: "Teacher" (Sylvia Ashton-Warner); "What Did I Write? Beginning Writing Behavior" (Marie M. Clay); "Composing: Writing as a Self-Creating Process" (William E. Coles);…

A review of dozens of journal articles and books on the subject of writing across the curriculum reveals the following basic assumptions that seem to characterize most college writing across the curriculum programs: (1) writing is a complex and developmental process; (2) writing should be used to promote learning; (3) the teaching of writing is…

In spite of the widespread implementation of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), there remains little concrete evidence of the writing-thinking connection. This paper proposes a new research method that tracks students' performance and production at a deeper level of specificity than that in previous investigations of this relationship, e.g., in…

Describes a college instructor's observations of her students' writing blocks. Suggests that female students' writing blocks differ from males'. Asserts that females' blocks last longer and cause greater distress than do males' writing blocks. Notes that female students also appear to experience difficulty in utilizing secondary sources and…

Noting that the claim that writing is a way to learn underlies most writing across the curriculum programs, this paper provides an overview of recent research results supporting the claim and emphasizes the need for more research in this area. The paper first identifies three dominant interpretations in the writing across the curriculum…

Designed for the classroom teacher, this composition handbook suggests ways in which the teacher can integrate composition activities with the Macmillan language program. The first part of the handbook examines the following research findings: (1) students learn to write by writing, (2) a variety of writing experiences is necessary, (3) the…