A study examined the effects of (1) providing students with instruction in a "discourse-structure" reading and writing strategy on college freshmen's recall and comprehension of history textbook passages; and (2) this procedure on the quality of students' expository writing. Subjects, 126 college freshmen, randomly assigned to one of…

Using Barry Kroll's distinction of the three perspectives of audience dominant in the field of composition, this paper presents methods for teaching audience awareness in freshman composition. The theories underlying the rhetorical, informational, and social perspectives of audience are discussed; and the methods typical of each perspective are…

Ethical issues make writing assignments more than academic exercises, especially when the ethical issues involve the writing itself. Such issues arise in every aim and mode of discourse and in every stage of the writing process, from choosing a topic to editing the final draft. Informative discourse must be factual and comprehensive, and have…

The traditional research paper is a hothouse flower, existing only in the quiet recesses of English departments. There is much research being done outside the university but approach, format, and philosophy of both research and the research paper differ dramatically from the models presented to students. Classes on the writing of research papers…

Process-based approaches to the instruction of writing in English as a second language (ESL), designed to recognize composition as a complex, nonlinear, creative process, must not be so loosely structured that the college-bound ESL student gets lost in the method. A relatively structured process approach, developed for advanced-level students who…

A study examined the differences between the processes involved in analytic and summary writing by contrasting student writing of both kinds. Twenty 11th graders, 10 high and 10 average ability writers, participated in two composing-aloud sessions. In one session, the student wrote an analytic essay about a history passage and, in the other…

Teachers can create talented writers in their classrooms by designing a course in which students are given the tools and the techniques they need to develop their talents. Writers need (1) an overview of the writing processes, which includes choices about language purposes, register (such as formal, informal, or casual), patterns of organization,…

A study was conducted over a two-year period to investigate the idea-generating strategies of six professional writers and their implications for students. Because finding an idea that leads to a journal or newspaper column is so important to a writer, an attempt was made to learn ways professional writers establish working plans and develop a…

Logical strategies used in informative writing include factuality, comprehensiveness, and surprise value, which provides the focus of the paper and guides both the organization and the thoroughness with which each subtopic must be covered. Failure to teach surprise value is the main problem behind the uninteresting reports that teachers must face…

This publication contains information for potential technical article writers who wish to know how to become professionals. The 14 chapters deal with the following areas: getting started, developing ideas, gathering information through library research and through interviews, writing for different audiences, choosing titles, writing leads and…

This guide is intended to improve the writing and composition skills of oceanography students but it may be applied to other written scientific compositions. Discussed is the documenting of laboratory and field investigations during the activity. A suggested format for the research report is presented with discussions of each section. A segment is…

Those who argue for the inclusion of literature in composition courses point out that English teachers must teach from their area of expertise and that the use of literature endorses creative and imaginative use of language, avoids what is merely utilitarian and boring, and promotes growth in thinking. Those who oppose the use of literature in…

The writings in this collection were contributed by elementary, junior high school, and senior high school teachers during their participation in the South Bay Area (California) Writing Project. The writings are of a variety of genres, including personal memoirs, letters, character sketches, fiction, poetry, fables, and statements about writing.…