This study synthesised previous literature focused on college English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes for writing. A meta-analysis of identified longitudinal studies (14 samples; 175 effect sizes; N = 602) revealed that the students improved their English writing through EAP programmes (d = 0.45, SE = 0.07, p < 0.001). By computing…

Background/Context: Many students in the United States need access to effective writing instruction, with some requiring intensive intervention. Results from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) in writing over the past 25 years revealed that most students in the U.S. have yet to attain a proficient level of written expression…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) have academic deficits that affect their success in school. However, there are few research studies investigating what strategies work best for this population, especially in the area of writing. One promising intervention to support the writing skills of students with and at risk for E/BD is…

Transforming Writing is a two-year action research project which aims to develop a model for the teaching and learning of writing that more fully incorporates a focus on embedded formative assessment. In the first year of the project, the 12 participating schools developed a model of writing underpinned by Talk for Writing, an approach developed…

This article describes a cognitive argumentation schema for written arguments and presents three empirical studies on the "myside" bias--the tendency to ignore or exclude evidence against one's position. Study 1 examined the consequences of conceding, rebutting, and denying other-side information. Rebuttal led to higher ratings of…

This article reviews a specific body of writing intervention research, that of component analyses of cognitive strategy instruction. One rationale for examining the effects of individual components comes from meta-analyses, which indicate powerful intervention outcomes for complex strategies, though it is frequently unclear which component has the…

This report provides information drawn from a study that compared two components of the freshman English program at the University of Texas at Austin. The first chapter of the report contains background material and describes the two course components--the analytic option, which emphasizes writing skills in the context of complete pieces of…

Discusses the Bay Area Writing Project's offshoot, the National Writing Project (NWP). Describes the NWP's development, design, attributes, and limitations. The program's success depends upon the commitment of administrators and all teachers, not just those teaching English. (WD)

Gathers qualitative and quantitative measures in a formative analysis of the Writing to Read program. Finds that qualitative measures supported student, parent, and teacher satisfaction related to the program and that some statistically significant differences were found between first- and second-grade Writing to Read students and control…

The Oakland County School District in Michigan is in its fourth year of sponsoring the Oakland Writing Project. Research concerning whether the activities are having a positive influence on instruction and whether students are writing better as a result of the project has been, for the most part, informal but important. Project participants have…

Drawing upon information gathered in a survey of eight two-year colleges and one four-year college, this paper discusses the status of writing within the two-year college system. Following introductory remarks, the paper gives a brief profile of one two-year college, Casper College in Wyoming, including data about its background, curriculum,…

Reports the results of a series of long-range studies that demonstrate that participants in short courses improve their communication skills as much as students enrolled in semester-long college classes. (AEA)

Draws from date collected in a study of effective college composition instruction to discover six instructional patterns: (1) the literature approach, (2) the peer workshop approach, (3) the individualized workshop approach, (4) the text-based modes approach, (5) the basic skills approach, and (6) the service course approach. (FL)

A descriptive study investigated whether a common middle-level writing program exists, and what factors impact the writing program and the relationships among these factors. A random sample of 1,500 classrooms in California and Missouri stratifying on four grade span school types (K-8, 6-8, 7-8, 7-9) was chosen. A survey was developed, sent, and…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a teacher-researcher program begun in the Fort Worth Indpendent School District to improve and assess students' writing abilities. The study sought to determine if there was a noticeable improvement in the writing skills of students studying with the teacher-researchers as opposed to students studying with…