The Technical Communication Program which began in 1971 at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Rhetoric involves an applied approach to communication. Differentiating this undergraduate program from others in communication is the fact that its approach to communication skills training involves both writing and speaking, as well as…

The occurrence of misleading cognates in the English compositions of students whose first language is Spanish can lead to a significant failure of communication between non-Spanish-speaking teachers and their students. Such a failure can produce attitudinal changes in both teacher and student that are potentially destructive to the learning…

Three expressive writing tasks from the 1974 national assessment of writing are summarized and discussed in this report. Results indicated that for a majority of students, first-draft expressive writing is unstructured and lacking in coherence. The tendency to integrate feelings and to organize them in coherent expressions develops between the…

This article discusses error correction in the writing and speaking of foreign language learners. If it is decided that student errors should be corrected, should all errors be corrected or only particular ones? How should errors be corrected, when, and by whom? (CFM)

Describes the advantages of the Cloze procedure for teaching composition where the context is restricted, i.e., in writing business letters and reports. Advantages include: ease of administration, no marking, immediate knowledge of results, feedback to teacher, adaptable scoring system, flexibility, opportunity for student correction, and…

Education Secretary Bennett reports on specific problems in the nation's educational system and defines curriculum goals in the following areas: reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, cultural literacy, the arts, foreign languages, and health and physical education. Appended are 27 footnotes. (IW)

Reviews five books by James Moffett, discussing ways these practical applications of his development theory can be adopted as a course, a program, or a curriculum. Presents Moffett's work as a holistic integrated arts approach that offers a "real writing" alternative to such external controls as standardized tests, formalized writing…

Discusses problems of writing introductions in light of the theories of H. P. Grice, C. Altieri, K. Burke, and Aristotle, illustrated with scientific writing, rhetorical criticism, and student letters and essays. Approaches the introduction as text both about subject matter and about the intended reader, situation invoked, and writer's own…

Suggests that the current tests for writers form a paradigm for how other liberal studies faculties can shape assessment programs that reflect the important tenets of their disciplines, because these tests have grown from sound academic principles, rather than from the expediencies of budget offices, campus testing services, or legislative…

Examines positions on English education reform in the early 1900s, specifically the following professional concerns: finance, curriculum, teacher recruitment, and professional leadership. Notes that attitudes and circumstances of the past are repeated in the present. (JG)

Describes the Professional Improvement Commitment, a written agreement developed between teacher and evaluator/supervisor at the end of a supervision/evaluation cycle, designed to increase teacher effectiveness. (MM)

Discussion of the use of microcomputer-assisted instruction for advanced college writing courses emphasizes word processing exercises and programmed lessons. Topics discussed include computer writing labs, local area networks, commercially available software for writing instruction, teacher developed programs, and authoring languages and authoring…

Describes students' and teachers' reactions to working in peer feedback groups in a foreign language composition course, including such aspects as peer feedback compatibility, process approach to writing, and ways in which feedback teams can function more effectively. (Author/CB)

Describes students' reactions to and comments on an experimental writing course in which all essays were composed on computer terminals using XEDIT and WATERLOO SCRIPT. Students had favorable reactions to revision ease and enjoyability factor, but reacted unfavorably to learning word processing, equipment failure, and confinement to one writing…

Addressing major themes of the commission's "Open Letter to the American People," this article discusses reading and writing skills development, and the cognitive skills involved in these processes. An effective teaching method, the Language Experience Approach based on aural/oral language with reading and writing combined, is detailed. (MBR)