By allowing students to enter imperfectly into peer group conversations with their own language and conversational habits and then monitoring their feedback while modeling the type that is most conducive to promoting true exchange, teachers can facilitate successful and satisfying ways of talking about writing. (HOD)

Observations of four students, from their second through fourth grades, as they evaluated compositions revealed, among other findings, that (1) affective responses tend to dominate quality judgments, (2) the number of criteria children used in arriving at quality judgments increased over time, and (3) evaluation criteria are used in both planning…

Analyzes several questions and student answers, and the graders' evaluations of student responses on each of two advanced placement examinations--the one which tests Vergil and the one which tests Catallus and Horace. The percentages of participants scoring at each grade level of the exam are also presented. (SED)

Describes how using traditional methods to grade students' written compositions forces evaluators to undertake simultaneously two incompatible tasks, responding and assessing. Suggests that, because of variations in grading, team grading procedures be used as a workable method of arriving at fair and reliable composition grades. (EL)

Can students' writing ability really be assessed by standardized, objective tests? This question is explored here along with a discussion of the alternatives and advice for principals to help their English and language arts teachers confront the issue. (Author/TE)

Describes the Colorado Writing Assessment Program, a testing program that provides two kinds of feedback to teachers and students: (1) a holistic score that measures the general quality of writing and (2) a set of scores on analytic scales that reflect students' achievement in four areas. Concludes that the program works. (FL)

Recommends student performance be evaluated by professional standards of excellence as preparation for survival at a professional level on the job. Emphasizes that all tasks given to students be as close as possible to those they would be asked to do at work. (EL)

Explains a technique for teaching proofreading to basic writing students that calls forth their inner competence with language and causes them to attend to what is actually written in order to find and correct manuscript errors. (EL)

Offers classroom teachers from kindergarten through grade 12 seven suggestions on writing publishable manuscripts: (1) study journals' editorial policies, (2) give credit for borrowed material, (3) learn of publication plans for forthcoming issues, (4) avoid sexist language, (5) keep the intended audience in mind, (6) proofread and revise, and (7)…

Presents a model of the writing process using three stages of drafting: zero drafting--the discovery and initial realization of the topic; problem solving drafting--the identification and resolution of major conceptual and organizational problems; and final drafting--the attempt to arrive at the best possible solution to a rhetorical problem. (MM)

Describes research studies related to the study and teaching of literature, writing, and English teacher education. (HOD)

Describes a successful paper exchange program between eighth-grade students and high school seniors. States that the peer evaluations created audience awareness and motivated students' writing efforts. (MM)

Discusses the importance of voice in writing and suggests that the current interest in the writing process encourages students to increase their power of expression without distorting their voice beyond recognition. Includes samples of student writing. (MM)

The purpose of this guide is to assist teachers in preparing their students to write effectively, both on the Georgia Grade Three Writing Assessment and in other contexts. Using Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) writing objectives, teachers are encouraged to use the information in this guide to create transparencies and handouts for students. The…

With many English teachers now opting to teach writing and literature courses in electronic environments, some of the teachers' most significant experiences in these environments have stemmed from their attempts to make technology available as a literacy tool for culturally diverse student populations. Computer-mediated communication can broaden…