A review of the literature reveals that three writing skills have been of particular interest to writing researchers recently. First, work on planning the rhetorical strategy recognizes three components of the planning process: prewriting, pausing, and reviewing what has been written. Second, research on audience analysis indicates that maturity…

Twenty 10th grade students participated in a study designed to identify differences in the ways developing writers use words to create written texts. Essays written by the students were holistically evaluated and then analyzed for the types and the number of lexical cohesive ties used and the nature of the grammatical subject, or focus, of each…

All writing-across-the-curriculum programs have one common feature: they require that composition faculty approach and enlist the cooperation of faculty in other disciplines. To help in this regard, the following recommendations have been made to writing faculty directing interdisciplinary programs: (1) survey the faculty, either through the…

There appear to be two basic theories about the relationship of written language to oral language and the relationship of writing to reading. The first theory views written language as a derivative of oral language and as an alternate but parallel form of oral language. The pedagogical implications of this model suggest that the problems of…

A survey of student writing in every subject and grade in a Canadian secondary school involved 117 students over a nine-day period and investigated the amount of writing done in all subjects and the variety of purpose and audience in student writing. Results showed that each student produced an average of two written pieces per day, that one out…

Noting that while the language experience approach to reading instruction assumes that the learner is intuitively familiar with the language and that this familiarity facilitates recognition of the language on the printed page, this paper argues that students learning to read in a second language do not have the same degree of intuitive…

Responses to a writing therapy questionnaire by 25 psychologists indicated how and why they used writing in their work. Three-fifths of the psychologists used writing frequently, two-fifths infrequently. Most of the counselors reported that clients reacted quite positively to requests that they engage in writing. The most commonly used forms of…

This report contains information on the 1980 Basic Skills Assessment Writing Sample that the New Mexico State Department of Education administered to over 1,000 tenth grade students. Sections of the report provide the following information: (1) background data and an explanation of holistic scoring, which was used in the assessment; (2)…

To make freedom work in the writing classroom, the instructor must be highly structured, possessing a clear sense of direction that includes a precise idea of the skills to be covered. Freedom refers to the view of writing as a liberal art, a liberating force with the capacity to open new channels of thought and lead students to discover…

A study examined student writing from the point of view of each of three language functions: the expressive function (the evidence of the individual writer), the appeal function (evidence of a particular listener or audience), and the representative function (attention to the topic). While speaking, students have a clear sense of the three…

This manual for Exercise Administrators of the National Assessment of Educational Progress; Second Literature Third Reading Assessment, consists of administrative instructions for use immediately preceding, during and after assessment sessions in schools. Definitions of racial/ethnic categories, associated codes, and guidelines for solicting…

Journal writing is an expressive form of writing that teachers in all curricula can use to help their students increase writing fluency, facilitate learning, and promote cognitive growth. It combines the positive aspects of diaries and class notebooks, focusing on academic subjects from a personal point of view. Teachers can assign journal entries…

Reflecting the view that a single formula for revolutionizing the teaching of writing is unavailable, this publication of the New York State English Council presents a series of articles dealing with various topics in the teaching of composition in high school and college settings. Subjects discussed include the following: the use of fables in the…

Designed to help elementary and middle school language arts teachers structure a comprehensive objectives-based composition program, this guide attends to fundamental rhetorical concepts that should enable schools to effectively use existing resources while extending the range of instructional potentials in areas not often included in commercially…

This report is the result of a three-year survey of uniform course numbering systems across the nation, conducted by a committee created by the Conference on College Composition and Communication. It describes the establishment of the committee and then provides an overview of the responses to the survey from the 50 states. This is followed by an…