Emphasizes the importance of paying attention to how writers feel about their writing as well as what they think about it. States that textbooks deal with writers' feelings incidentally. Defines "flow" as being the opposite of writer's block. Defines "liking" and its implications for a writer's work-in-progress. Asks whether…

Investigates the effects of three study conditions (review only, study questions, and analytic essay writing) on high school students' writing and learning from text. Analyzes these strategies with regard to their impact on student concept application, immediate recall, delayed recall, and recall of manipulated content. Finds writing offers…

Presents a discursive, reflective, and experimental essay. Considers the wealth of images created by a 75-year-old letter from the author's father to his sister. Reflects on the relationship of writing to identity, history, and personal expression. Suggests that assessment needs to be contextual, descriptive, and personal. (RS)

Presents an electronic conversation which critiques holistic scoring procedures. Explores the different ways people in English are taught to read. Offers the idea of minimal holistic scoring in which raters make a specific educational decision rather than supply a number on a rating scale. Asks educators to focus more time on teaching than…

The assessment of foreign students' writing by native speaker English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers was examined using an analytical scoring technique based on the "ESL Composition Profile." Results showed that vocabulary accounted for the largest among of variance in total scores, followed by content, language use, organization, and…

Describes the Prism Awards program sponsored by The Kids Netword, designed to encourage original thought and creativity in Canadian children ages 7-14 who aspire to become professional writers. A training program that winners participate in to develop their writing talent is described, and a sidebar provides thoughts from a winner of the program.…

Proposes that the value of formal writing conventions has diminished. Notes that, although formal conventions are important, the findings are hard to generalize. Uses content analysis to prove formal conventions are valuable and are often justified on rhetorical grounds, suggesting the dichotomy between formalist and rhetorical axiologies is…

Explores how ninth- and eleventh-grade students reformulated their initial written analyses of two short stories through revisions fostered by between-draft written comments. Indicates significant effects for response condition and grade level. Analyzes data collected in two response modes: directive and dialogue. (HB)

National Assessment of Educational Progress writing sample essays from 1988 and 1990 (495 and 599 essays) were subjected to computerized grading and human ratings. Cross-validation suggests that computer scoring is superior to a two-judge panel, a finding encouraging for large programs of essay evaluation. (SLD)

Offers eight rules for minimizing the danger of writing teachers "showing off" their writing to students during in-class analysis. (RS)

Reviews the Test of Written Language--2 (TOWL--2). Finds the test's blending of contrived and spontaneous assessment of students' writing to be a plus. Discusses drawbacks of the test. (RS)

Asserts that a student-writing portfolio can be a powerful tool for writing instruction. Describes how students compile a portfolio, and the types of writing included. Discusses the use of collaboration in the writing process and methods of assessment. (PRA)

This study describes validation data for qualitative and quantitative writing measures useful with a full range of students, including special education students, in grades three through five. The study looked for consistent administration and scoring, sensitivity in differentiating groups of students, relation to other accepted assessments, and…

Investigates the grammatical and formal writing preferences of college professors, for the purpose of informing high school instructors about the students' future audience. Surveys professors' attitudes regarding disapproval of forms and stylistic preferences, and compare results with those of two other usage surveys. (PRA)

Shares students' reactions to written responses from teachers. (MG)