Studies the writing processes of noncomposition students, particularly the patterns of feedback and revision in four writing-across-the-curriculum courses. Analyzes the first and final drafts of 20 students. Highlights several issues for further research. (HB)

Describes and analyzes the genesis and history of the academic journal, "College Composition and Communication." Considers the journal's evolving physical format, the conversants within the pages, and the subject matter discussed over a period of four decades. (HB)

Reviews videotapes of three professional writers composing several essays from start to finish, both by hand and by computer. Discusses similarities and differences among the completed essays. Finds that writing appears to be governed by deep cognitive models that are little influenced by the mode of text production or by the writer's preference…

Notes a growing movement in elementary schools to expand the amount of time devoted to writing. Contends that the visual arts is a neglected aspect of the curriculum. Explores the influence of drawing on third-grade students' writing performance. Finds that students who drew before writing tended, overall, to write better than students who did not…

Examines patterns in the responses of eight second- and third-grade students as they constructed meaning from fiction and nonfiction when asked to respond in writing to different instructional tasks. Suggests that both the task and the text influence children's responses. Demonstrates that young children are capable of providing rich written…

Follows six non-native-speaker college students through an authentic essay-writing task. Finds that note-taking behaviors facilitated learning from text, but that depth of processing and the students' self-positioning in the discourse community were more important than their were overt behaviors. Concludes that students' notes were useful as a…

Finds developmental changes in both cohesive harmony and holistic writing quality in the writing of first graders, suggesting that cohesive harmony may be a sensitive measure of textual quality. Finds no consistent relationship between measures of cohesive ties and cohesive harmony. Suggests that cohesive harmony is a viable tool for discourse…

Investigates the nature and role of predictable texts for beginning readers and writers in first grade. Examines ways three children used texts to support their early-literacy development. Finds diverse and complex activities, as children made links within a text (textuality), between texts (intertextuality), and between texts and contexts…

Describes six high-achieving eighth-grade students asked to write a report about a significant person they would like as a mentor in high school. Finds the students chose their topics rapidly, and all but one created a task impression of the assigned report with little difficulty, using both content- and procedural-related goals to accomplish…

Discusses opportunities available to writing centers involving four potentials for institutional refiguration: (1) institutional space; (2) knowledge production and intellectual property; (3) research paradigms and rewards; (4) and budget allocations. (NH)

Finds that textbook prefaces are used by authors both to help the audience use the book and to convince them of its value, which accounts for relevant features of prefaces: the frequent use of textual metadiscourse and the pervasive presence of evaluation. Discusses evaluative criteria used in prefaces and how they are related to the audience's…

Argues for what activist technical writing research might look like, lays out an understanding of institutions that is helpful for influencing public policy, and illustrates promises and problems of both positions by using a case study focused on local HIV/AIDS policy making. Suggests that professional writing researchers can impact policy by…

Explores the dynamics of writing college application essays. Analyzes four high school seniors' think-aloud protocols as they composed the essays and college admissions officers' remarks as they read the essays. Finds that successful essayists were able to balance the requested self disclosure and the unstated deep institutional concern for…

Explores the effect of generative and evaluative computerized writing prompts on the revision efforts of college students enrolled in an elective intermediate composition course. Investigates whether students would revise more extensively and successfully than those with no prompting assistance. Supports the assumption that explicit strategies via…

Reports a study involving five groups of stake holders who used the two different electronic meeting techniques to discuss ways of improving a local private school. Finds that participants preferred electronic gallery writing over electronic poolwriting because of the former's ability to show users all of the groups' comments at the same time. (SR)