The obvious necessity for a freshman English course which is geared to the individual student's needs, prior preparation, and writing behavior prompted the formation of an experimental course at the University of Texas. Three major components--diagnostic tests, contracts, and computer-assisted instruction--provide the framework for a…

To help assess the writing ability of college freshmen studying English as a second language (ESL), this study was undertaken to identify particular structures of subordination associated with writing maturity and to develop a diagnostic instrument to test student control of those structures. Following sentence-generating principles of…