The inability of students to become involved with writing assignments in two high-school sophomore honors classes was addressed at a writer's workshop by the implementation of collaborative learning, peer evaluation, conferencing, and broadened literature selection. Students responded to pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys to assess individual…

Word processors have been shown to favor a local perspective over a global perspective on the text during writing. Recently, advanced outline processors or "idea processors" have appeared that allow the writer to represent and handle structural aspects of a text so that the writer may compose the text within an outline and experiment with…

Recognizing that the teaching of writing has always been political, this collection of essays by teachers, scholars, and theorists intends to promote discussion of what it means to study and teach writing and reading at a time when the academy itself is struggling to define the educational needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The…

This study explores the belief that if students of Spanish do not write a word correctly, they can not pronounce it correctly. Particular attention focuses on the interrelation between using accent marks in orthography and pronunciation. It is demonstrated that: (1) accent marks may not always be relevant for second-language (L2) speakers,…

Focusing on the use of word processing software programs as instructional tools for students learning writing composition, this collection includes 14 research articles and position papers, 16 reports on lesson ideas and projects, 5 articles on keyboarding, and 18 product reviews. These materials relate to teaching writing through the process…

A study examined the status of graduate studies in composition at the M.A. level. Open-ended surveys were sent to every M.A.-granting institution listed in "Petersen's Graduate Programs in the Humanities." One hundred eleven surveys were returned (a 39% response). Results indicated that: (1) the average M.A.-granting institution does not…

A study examined the status of women in composition (focusing on writing program administration), how they achieved this status and at what costs. Twenty women who are considered leaders in the field answered questionnaires dealing with training and background, administrative duties, and the effects on their personal and professional lives.…

In a study of writing perceptions held by college faculty in disciplines other than English, 81 faculty members indicated whether each of 67 student writing errors bothered them a great deal, a little, or not at all. Results showed that teachers did not strongly object to errors apparently produced by carelessness or by ignorance of finer…

Graphs are increasingly being used in written communication and writers expect readers to understand them. One definition of graphs--information transmitted by position of point, line or area on a two dimensional surface--excludes displays composed chiefly of numbers or words such as tables or outlines. However, it does include time lines, flow…

One approach to teaching organization to a writing class is to subdivide the organizational processes. One subdivision recognizes that certain compositions have a predictable format--they put expected parts in predictable places. Following a format at appropriate times is a skill that should be taught, or at least insisted upon, at the beginning…

Readers as well as writers compose meaning. Using the same characteristics essential to effective writing--planning, drafting, aligning, revising, and monitoring--readers react creatively with the text. In response to the author's intention and their own knowledge base, they decide what they want to get from their reading. Constantly renegotiating…

Noting that although a great deal of empirical research has been done to investigate the writing rules commonly taught, this paper points out that no one has yet constructed a deep theory of the relationship between cognition and writing that confirms the writing rules and explains how they work. The paper then uses theories and research in the…

Written descriptions of student accomplishments should be required to supplement letter grades.

Disadvantaged students should be encouraged to explore and use the language resources of their own folk cultures. (JH)

One challenge faced by many writing teachers is meeting the needs of students with varying skill and confidence levels. This article describes strategies used in a Composition and Rhetoric I course to meet the needs of basic and college-level writers. Sample assignments focusing on the theme of literacy and learning are provided, including an…