When students have difficulty writing, it is often because they are apathetic or afraid of failing, rather than because of a serious lack of skill. Basic writing teachers must break through student apathy and fear before the students can begin to progress. One way is to ask basic writers to unscramble sentences or analyze ambiguous sentences to…

To explore the role of one specific revision strategy--reading and rereading pieces of text--in the composing process, case studies were made of two college freshman writers: Jim, who was highly apprehensive about the process of composing, and David, who was not at all apprehensive about writing. Specifically, videotapes of the students' composing…

Most of the 24 books reviewed in this annotated bibliography concern writing and are recent publications (1980-1985). Titles and authors are as follows: "Teacher" (Sylvia Ashton-Warner); "What Did I Write? Beginning Writing Behavior" (Marie M. Clay); "Composing: Writing as a Self-Creating Process" (William E. Coles);…

Noting that the problem of writer's block is often rooted in such cognitive difficulties as rigid or inappropriate composing rules and planning strategies, this study approaches writer's block as a measurable problem that can be analyzed and remedied. The introductory chapter defines writer's block and pertinent terms, discusses a cognitive model…

A study was conducted to determine whether a relationship existed between developmental English students' perceptions of the usefulness of writing in their lives and their performance in composition classrooms. Students enrolled in the developmental English course and the companion writing center course completed a writing attitude questionnaire.…

Drawing upon the processing, distancing, and affective streams of writing research, a study examined the relationships among key variables in the writing of sixth through twelfth grade students: grade level, writing ability, knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate writing behaviors, and writing apprehension. Subjects, 496 students from an urban…

Describes how a group of third graders had an opportunity to write fairy tales using process writing techniques to assist them in overcoming their anxiety and dislike for writing. Indicates that writing strategies introduced through focused mini-lessons and feedback that valued children's writing choices were critical for the positive influences…

Finds significant relationships between computer anxiety and computer/word processing, between computer anxiety and computer electronic discussion group, and between computer anxiety and online computer service among 130 students from a variety of undergraduate rhetoric classes at a large midwestern university. Finds also significant differences…

This study presents and tests a hypothesized structural model that attempts to explain the relationship of writing in English as a foreign language by Taiwanese university students to a variety of factors. Investigated were factors considered to be inhibiting (writing apprehension and writer's block), factors considered to be facilitative (free…

Path analysis was used to test the influence of writing self-efficacy, self-concept, apprehension, and aptitude on the essay-writing performance of 181 ninth-grade students in a public high school in the southwestern United States. A model that also included gender accounted for 53% of the variance in performance. As hypothesized, both aptitude…

One of a series of workplace education modules, this module includes activities and exercises for improving writing skills in the workplace. First, discussions of writing in the workplace are presented, highlighting tips for effective instruction, and of issues related to grading papers, including a sample evaluation form. Next, the assessment…

A set of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) lessons is presented that is geared to the needs of reluctant writers, especially those with limited English proficiency. The approach has been used successfully with grades 2-6. The plan has seven steps: (1) an oral performance by the teacher using a key word and a series of unrelated sentences in which…

Useful for writing teachers at all levels, this monograph explores the nature of writing apprehension and presents nonthreatening teaching and evaluation methods. The first section of the booklet examines theory and research on writing anxiety and its effects, along with some teaching behaviors likely to aggravate the problem. The second section…

In 1989, a project was undertaken to improve the student success rate in a writing course (Communications I) at a Florida multi-campus institution. Of the 489 students who had taken the course, 18% were unsuccessful in completing it in one semester. Three observed student behaviors which contributed to poor writing performance were an inability to…

A study examined areas of the doctoral dissertation process that are often problematic for the Ph.D./Ed.D. candidate in the field of communication. Subjects, 250 randomly selected Speech Communication Association members holding a Ph.D. or an Ed.D. were surveyed. Of the 250 surveys mailed, 137 were returned, representing a 54.8% return rate.…