Describes the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1998 writing assessment, Includes average scores and achievement-level results for the United States and the states, for demographic subgroups, and for students in a variety of contexts. Also examines the framework and content of the assessment. (Author/SLD)

Claims that regardless of the dilemmas qualitative researchers face given the implications of postmodern critique, qualitative research elicits an understanding of communication practices in ways that other kinds of research cannot. Proposes a model of research practices to help researchers understand qualitative research as a social activity and…

Suggests that beginning writers can improve skills when they exchange letters with peers, teachers, and others. Offers a brief historical perspective on the use of letters as a pedagogical device. Outlines current applications of letter writing and exchanges in: English as a second language; technical and business writing; composition and…

Explores five common types of instructional feedback--written, conferences, audio, video, and computer. Provides a description drawn from the literature, and offers several guidelines for using each format in education and training. (AEF)

Presents the results of a study undertaken to determine the number and nature of the problems encountered by advanced undergraduate students in a French composition course. The primary objective of the study was to find an explanation for the repetition and frequency of student errors and to modify the content of the course. Presents quantitative…

Discussion of the quality of distance learning programs focuses on a study of Christopher Newport University (CPU ONLINE) that showed learning outcomes in online courses were as good as outcomes in traditional courses. Describes online writing requirements that helped students develop critical thinking skills. (Author/LRW)

Describes the planning, implementation, and results of an experiment at Brooklyn Law School (New York) to teach legal writing skills by a simulation activity which integrates client interviewing skills with the process of composing the client-advice letter. Experience with this approach over three years is recounted. (DB)

Suggests that to best appreciate technology, one should be able to leap between aesthetic and technological mindsets, between poetry and computers. Illustrates how the inevitable breakdowns in technologically-assisted learning can be used as opportunities to "flex one's creativity." (AEF)

Describes a program at Eastern Washington University that integrates library skills as a component of the English composition program, and is part of a computer-literacy program stemming from a general-education curriculum reform. Discusses program development and design, assessment of student learning, and effectiveness of the program. (LRW)

English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners in two countries participated in two parallel experiments testing whether retention of vocabulary acquired incidentally is contingent on amount of task-induced involvement. Results are discussed in light of the construct of task-induced involvement. (Author/VWL)

Argues that writing to a real audience in the form of a letter is an effective way for students to learn the importance of audience in writing. Stresses the idea that students who are intimidated by the writing process will view letter writing in a more positive light and be more amenable to the learning process. Describes a specific…

Focuses on fifth- and sixth-grade students writing about music using three types of description: metaphor and emotion, analytic elements of music, and temporal change and sequence. (CMK)

Presents an art project in which sixth-grade students learned about the work of environmentalist photographer Andy Goldsworthy. Explains how the students created designs using natural materials from the woods. Designs were photographed by high-school students. The sixth-graders then wrote about their experiences. (CMK)

Describes a project for high school students that introduces them to photographic software. Students design a new species of animal by reassembling parts of at least four animals into a "believable" new form. Students also write a commentary on their digital animal's habitat and origin. (CMK)

This paper presents a discussion of an experimental, innovative course in corpus-informed EAP for doctoral students. Participants were given access to specialized corpora of academic writing and speaking, instructed in the tools of the trade (web- and PC-based concordancers) and gradually inducted into the skills needed to best exploit the data…