Uses a computerized style checker to analyze 14 direct-mail letters used to market books to a middle-class female audience. Outlines methods for correlating stylistic traits with sales success. Finds that letter effectiveness is enhanced by lowering readability levels, as well as by limiting the use of negative words and modifiers. (PRA)

Compares the time required to perform four tasks on the basis of information gleaned from a traditional manual and from a hypertext version of the same manual. Finds that searches in the paper document were significantly faster than those in hypertext. Suggests that direct importation of existing word-processing files into hypertext format is not…

Presents an interview with James Britton, author of the book "Language and Learning." Discusses poetry and writing, revisions to his book, the relationship between teachers' classroom experiences and the writing of stories, and the practical application of research and theory. (PRA)

Presents a transcript of an interview with the British logician and philosopher Stephen Toulmin. Covers aspects of his various books. Relates his thoughts to the field of composition studies. (HB)

Complains that, even though composition instructors beg their students to improve their writing style, much professional writing is stylistically dense and unreadable. Questions whether writing teachers can teach style or whether asking for sentence variety is useful. Criticizes the treatment of style and sentence variety in composition textbooks.…

Examines how instructors may motivate students to improve their writing skills. Compares goal- and punishment-based grading systems for students. Tests two exemplary systems to determine their effect on students' performance and perception. Finds that, although both systems improved students' writing, they were perceived differently and the…

Documents the increased interest about collaboration in technical communication, identifies and categorizes research topics, notes an increasing interest in balancing quantitative and qualitative approaches, and poses a continuum as a way of organizing and characterizing research about collaboration in technical communication. Situates the…

Examines the relationship between the characteristics of second-year MBA student writing groups and the quality of their group-written reports. Finds that the most significant correlation between the groups and their writing was whether or not individuals chose to form teams on the basis of having worked together previously in writing projects.…

Explores how graphic symbols came to represent underlying linguistic constituents. It is suggested that the relationship between speech and writing may be just the opposite of what is traditionally assumed. Writing systems may provide the concepts and categories for thinking about the structure of speech rather than the reverse. (47 references)…

Describes a qualitative study of the practices of 12 teachers as they used writing activities in the classrooms. Presents examples of integration of writing and subject matter. (SR)

Examines the roles of convention, conflict, and conversation in the formation of audience constructs. Finds that writers' textual choices to address or invoke audiences are based more on institutional conventions than on either disciplinary conventions or on situational conditions and constraints. (SR)

Discusses a study of writing revision in which all the writing done in two sections of a writing course was collected and draft-to-draft revisions were studied. Suggests that revision depends as much on acquisition of topical knowledge as on level of cognitive development. (SR)

Examines differences between composition researchers and communication professionals in use of the term "editing." Argues for cooperation between these two groups to develop an interdisciplinary definition of editing to bring consistency to research, precision to the editing process, and substantial advance in the bridge between theory…

Describes an informal experiment designed to explore the relationship between drawing and writing, and the meaning held in the drawings. Finds that drawing should not be relegated only to small children, but should be used to help older students explore their thoughts and feelings as well. (PRA)

Argues that managers write within a unique context, and, thus, much of what is known about writing in general or professional writing may not apply. Reviews the literature on managerial writing, finding a paucity of research and a heavy emphasis on survey methodology. Offers six general research questions for future research. (SR)