Describes how consistent focused and sequenced freewriting with sequenced procedures for moving from it to additional writing leads students to more effective writing. (CHR)

This digest, based on a book of the same title, summarizes relevant research and promising practices in the strategic processing of text, both narrative and expository, by students with learning disabilities. For narrative text, it cites studies on improving students' ability to use narrative structure and the effectiveness of teaching students to…

This report is designed for educators who are involved in teaching, developing, or evaluating curriculum in the middle and junior high schools. It describes the content and application of Florida's eighth grade writing test, and it offers suggestions that might be helpful in preparing students for the assessment. The 1990 Florida legislature…

Presents an oral narrative created by a Mexican- American child based on a picture story, and contrasts it with an essay-oriented narrative to demonstrate that essayist literacy as taught in school constrains interpersonal relationships and personal/cultural identity, and serves to maintain the standards of the dominant culture. (MJL)

Reports on a national survey examining the current institutional situation of "advanced composition" courses. Finds (1) doubt about the institutional future of such courses; (2) a wide variety of course content and points of focus; (3) theoretical divisions among teachers of such courses; and (4) positive perceptions of the relationship…

Describes a model of social writing, for use in writing socially relevant, easy-to-read books for new adult readers, which incorporates expressive, cognitive, and social aspects. Elaborates the process from topic selection through manuscript printing, compares the model to other types, and touches upon its transfer to other settings and other…

Explored the effect of giving novice foreign language readers information about the rhetorical structure of an expository text as a text adjunct. Results indicated that an expanded framework is an effective text adjunct for the comprehension of the expository prose. (27 references) (Author/CB)

Investigates the role of signaling (structural cues that announce or emphasize content or reveal content relationships) in helping good readers comprehend expository text. Finds that signals do improve a reader's comprehension, particularly comprehension two weeks after the reading of a passage and comprehension of superordinate and superordinate…

A critical look at four conventional beliefs that guide research in higher education is presented. These beliefs concern stakeholders, aims of inquiry, paradigm and modes of inquiry, and inquiry perspectives. Higher education should be a field of study where scholars, administrators and faculty provide the lodestar for inquiry. (Author/MLW)

Argues that the introductory history course should focus on teaching students to find, evaluate, and present information in a coherent manner rather than merely present a cluster of facts to be memorized. Suggests an article review assignment which teaches students to effectively evaluate and communicate knowledge. (LS)

Reports a study of the initial effects of word processing on essay-writing performance and on writing apprehension. Concludes that college freshmen using word processing showed greater progress in writing performance from pre to post essay tests than did those using traditional methods, but they did not show significant difference in writing…

Investigates the ability of children at two grades and reading ability levels to write functionally appropriate expository texts. Finds that (1) virtually all the children understand the function and audience for exposition; and (2) reading level is significantly more related than grade level to sophisticated use of cohesion, organization, and a…

Evaluated the PREG conceptual model of human question asking. Found the model was sufficient as it accounted for nearly all of the questions produced by students, and was discriminating in that it could identify the conditions in which particular classes of questions are or are not generated. (Author/SD)

I have presented the findings from a longitudinal case study of one child's writing from kindergarten to grade 3, across different curriculum contexts, with a focus on writing in mathematics, social studies, science, and music. I describe changes in textual features of the child's writing over time, which support Newkirk's (1987) developmental…

This article explores the fundamental issues related to education as a human right, particularly in the context of rapid globalization. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations' 1959 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights all declare education to…