Describes and laments over the problems of working writing centers on college campuses, including misinformed students and faculty, the lack of adequate facilities, and the lack of professional respect. (CRH)

Research on second language reading and writing development in children suggests (1) children who speak little English are reading some of the print in their environment, (2) they can read English before they have complete oral control of it, (3) their comprehension is influenced by their knowledge and culture, and (4) their second language…

Investigates the reading rate and comprehension of a total of 16 individuals who represented four superior reading groups: speed readers, professionals, college students, and people who scored exceptionally high on tests. (HOD)

Examines the responses of 10 veteran teachers to an essay written by an ESL student and concludes that most teachers continue to mark only surface errors, even in ESL essays. (DF)

Views the writing act as an act of exploration rather than the reporting of what was discovered and emphasizes six elements that achieve the surprise in writing, including expectation, ease, and acceptance. (DF)

Describes how a workshop format in a composition class lessened the teacher's workload and provided students with additional learning experiences. (DF)

"Mental aerobics" stimulates the mind through well-planned, specific, and direct exercise routines. During a lecture, students are asked to tear out a half-sheet of paper and write an immediate reaction to the lecture. This technique encourages inclusion, expression, understanding, thinking, feedback, insight, and comparison. (Author/MLW)

The act of writing reflects the mind operating from learned techniques, but learning is also being practiced. Writing instruction includes the study of rhetoric as well as literature, which makes it a liberal art. Understanding the principles of rhetoric allows the writer to know that how something is said is as important as what is said. (MSE)

Introduces Sustained Spontaneous Writing (SSW), a strategy which encourages young writers by providing a classroom environment that fosters writing habits and by having teachers model writing behaviors expected from students. Presents background information and practical suggestions for implementing SSW and ensuring its success in the daily…

Work of students identified as basic writers was studied and analyzed to determine students' perceptions about composition. Results suggest that progress is linked to the ability to develop and elaborate ideas while writing, to the ability to generate acceptable English automatically, and to the ability to rewrite, edit, and revise. (Author/LMO)

Demonstrates that a more useful investigation of the relations between process and product might explore how these models meet in theory and in practice, rather than where they separate. Shows how a less polarized view of process and product might enrich the classroom practice. (EL)

Raises three issues concerning the activity of writing and its relation to texts and cultures: (1) knowledge as the basis for the activity of writing, (2) the varying nature of the activity itself and how that activity is shaped by context, and (3) the perceived nature of the written work in a given culture. (HOD)

Describes how reader response theory can be easily adapted to classroom practice, thereby sharpening student interest in reading, increasing their capacity to reason and write, and fostering greater regard for different points of view. (HOD)

Discusses use of computers in writing poetry, indicating that color graphics can free the poet from mundane mechanics and allow new possibilities of form in the writing of verse. Also discusses "The Electric Poet," a computer program which allows any author, teacher, or student to easily create animated color poems. (JN)

The serious lack of language proficiency among many educational administrators and supervisors should be countered by their becoming aware of their linguistic habits and by taking such steps as developing writing workshops for administrators and staff. (MJL)