Asserts that the complexities peculiar to "bottom-writings" (essays graded at the lower end of a holistic scale) are often overlooked. Analyzes organizational patterns of high-rated, low-rated, and professional writers, noting similarities between the latter two groups. Considers how teachers can work with the skills bottom writers…

Documents the search for an adequate conceptualization of writing and argues for the inclusion of personal experiences with composition as the basis for any teaching or research activity. (SRT)

Describes a study on peer evaluation of students' writing. Indicates that teacher evaluation of students' writing is valuable, though results do not favor teacher evaluation over peer evaluation. (JD)

Examines summaries of expository text written by undergraduate students to discover the nature of text-to-summary mapping. Finds that simple omission and one-to-one mapping of text sentences into summary sentences were the most favored strategies. (FL)

Shares responses from a survey of educators who had published articles in "Language Arts," to determine any features common to their writing and publishing experiences and what advice they would offer to other teachers wishing to publish. (HTH)

Presents writing as a form of dialog and the paragraph as a unit of implied dialog. (MM)

In 2001 the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) put forth guidelines for the ethical treatment of students during research in composition studies, and several scholars have voiced their fears and opinions. This paper cautions that the Guidelines' reliance on Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to protect students may unintentionally…

In teaching writing, the "audience" became and still is fundamental, leading to the question of how students can learn to adapt their text to the assumed readership and at the same time, learn to write for their addressees. A study focused on how writers cope with the writing process, asking several questions about the concept of…

In the last few years, the focus has evolved from considering an "ethic of research" in composition studies to an "ethic of representation" in person-based research. One of the dominant questions that emerged from this shift is how researchers represent their students and their writings in composition research. What does the…

Reviews recent trends in composition research. Suggests that the apparently divergent directions of study reflect a new interest in writing as a process rather than as a product, and in reading as a response to or re-creation of the text rather than a passive acceptance of textual information. (MM)

With regard to the preceding articles in this issue, Joseph F. Dominic identifies key ideas of the research on writing, Susan Florio-Ruane points out similarities and differences among the articles, and Nancy L. Stein discusses methodological and conceptual issues in writing research. (RH)

Examines the "cognitive process theory of writing" expounded by writing researchers Linda Flower and John R. Hayes, discussing problems with their theory and with the methodology on which it is based. (HTH)

Presents a professional writer and writing teacher's ideas on writing and the writing process. (JL)

Describes a study testing the premise that an opening question in a letter eliminates excess words and increases the impact of the letter. (HTH)

Describes a taxonomy for analyzing written revision. Reports two studies that used this taxonomy and discusses the implications of these investigations. (RL)