Information on the Ontario Test of English Achievement is presented. Attention is directed to the background and objectives of the test, test development, subtest characteristics and properties, validity, and recommendations concerning test use. The objective of the test was to determine the language competence of incoming students to assist…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) a study of the meanings of experience of ten published feminist women writers; (2) the composing activities of computer literate writers; (3) the informational…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 19 titles deal with the following topics: the dynamics of creative expression, modular scheduling and student success in freshman composition, growth in writing ability through immersion in a university discipline, massed and…

Intended for high school teachers of English and lay readers engaged in correcting student themes and improving student writing practices, these 24 essays are collected into four groups: (1) "The Audience: For Whom Does the Student Write?" (three essays), dealing with identifying an audience, defining terms, improving topic sentences, and teaching…

Describes a two-year study of one college student's efforts to produce appropriate content area writing in different disciplines. Using observation, interviews, composing-aloud protocols, and text analysis, evaluates the student's performance according to the Gricean rubric of conversation. Concludes that success was affected by unarticulated…

Writing for the BBC World Service "Short Story" Program provides English as a second language students with the necessary conditions for "authentic writing," namely authentic and communicative writing practice, encouragement of language acquisition, and improvement of the teacher student relationship. (CB)

Examines three strategies designed to help middle school students use text structures to comprehend expository text: (1) hierarchical summaries, (2) conceptual maps, and (3) thematic organizers. Summarizes advantages and disadvantages of each strategy and recommends that teachers consider the outcomes they want and select the most appropriate…

CraftPlus[R] is an integrated learning package that consists of a K-8 spiraling, core writing curriculum based on explicit Target Skills instruction; professional books; grade-level Curriculum Guides; sixteen workshop and classroom demonstration DVDs; and a CD with student samples and other classroom support materials. The grade-level Curriculum…

English for Academic Purposes (EAP Writing) is a compulsory course for English literature and language students at Obirin University. The first semester focuses on expository writing, typical of the TOEFL[R] writing exam. The second semester focuses on writing about literature. To facilitate their writing all students are provided with a user…

This paper describes the use of a writing strategy, Cognitive Strategy Instruction in Writing (CSIW), to improve expository writing and student responsibility of four seventh-graders with learning disabilities. CSIW emphasizes the need for students to take responsibility for their own writing performance and to scaffold one another's writing…

Analyzes interview data collected from English-as-a-Second-Language students regarding their writing experience in English for academic purposes (EAP) and other courses. Characterizes students' reactions to three types of writing contexts and argues that EAP courses requiring students to write from general knowledge or personal experience limit…

A study compared the topical structure (TS) of Arabic and English in order to determine whether Arab learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) transfer potential differences between Arabic and English in their English writing, or whether they use an altogether different TS indicative of developmental factors. Four sets of data were compared…

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effects of computer conferencing on expository writing for undergraduate students (n=109) of seven intelligence types (linguistic, logical/mathematical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, and intrapersonal). Students were assigned to four treatment groups that provided…

A study to find patterns of cohesion and rhetorical structure that distinguish good from weak English essay writing is described. The corpus consisted of ten Swedish college essays written as part of the final exam in a first-year English course. Methodological problems encountered included the delimitation of units for the analysis of cohesive…

Intended for teachers of grades 7-16, this book discusses "heuristic" writing--writing that produces new, irreversible knowledge for the writer leading to a fuller understanding of the self and of the act of writing--as well as principles and practices having direct implications for a wide range of students. Chapter 1 examines the…