Compares the writing of two students--a competent writer and a weak one--in a technical communication course before and after discussion of design principles. Finds that a basic understanding of design principles helped them improve document macrostructure but had little effect on document microstructure. Suggests that integrating document design…

Proposes that writing centers form relationships with Applied Linguistics/ESL to research cross-cultural and cross-linguistic questions, thus fostering research grounded in the everyday work of the center, but with large cultural and theoretical implications. (SR)

Discusses six ways in which writing workshop and specific practices like author's chair can actually make learning to write more difficult if they are implemented in inappropriate ways. Presents a case study. Advocates focusing more on what the child is trying to do and less on what the teacher is trying to teach. (SR)

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…

Finds that major differences of opinion exist between students and teachers with regard to the report-writing process. Notes classroom strategies that create congruent perceptions of the task. (SR)

Analyzes a series of response rounds that a graduate sociology student and her professor engaged in as the student produced multiple drafts of a conference paper and a preliminary examination. Finds that the professor's response involved extensive rewriting of the student's text. Uses interviews to trace intermixture of the student's and the…

Compares the effectiveness of five grammar/style analysis software packages in analyzing business students' writing. States that the software exhibited differences in correctly identifying mechanical and style errors, avoiding misleading error messages, and providing remedial advice. Warns that no similar empirical tests have been done previously.…

Presents an interview with middle-school teacher Judy Logan. Discusses how this teacher, who is particularly knowledgeable about gender issues, responds to research reported in this journal regarding gender differences in students' choices of writing topics. (SR)

Looks at interdisciplinary work in composition and computer-mediated communication (CMC). States that work on writing and electronic networks has drawn from early experimental studies of CMC in social psychology. Reviews the work of four groups conducting social psychological research on CMC. Advocates a dialogic relationship between research in…

States that scientific journal article introductions usually open with standard moves that introduce the community to new findings in specific literature. Presents a study in which 4 articles on chaos theory were analyzed--then 12 scientists were asked to think aloud while reading them. Emphasizes that scientific readers reacted differently.…

Explores ways in which students read, think, and write about divergent points of view by analyzing transcripts of interviews with students. Finds three broad categories: "dogmatic,""noncommittal," and "analytical" approaches. Discusses pedagogical implications. (SR)

Observes collaborative activities in three writing classes. Offers two ethnographic reports: one illustrating the tension felt by the instructors as a result of stalled collaboration; the other demonstrating a more successful collaborative sequence. Concludes that once the instructors learned to think collaboratively, they began wholly to redesign…

Finds that the amount of teacher talk in individual writing conferences becomes a problem only when the student is not allowed to be in control (in terms of ownership of the agenda). Suggests that teachers use their expertise and what students have to say to create appropriate pedagogies. (RS)

Examines a number of written texts from a longitudinal case study that compared the writing development of a young girl and a young boy learning to write in writing process classrooms in Australia. Finds that the children took up strongly gendered positions in their writing. (RS)

Asserts that research in technical communication must grow in quantity, quality, and coherence. Assesses the research reports in the proceedings of the annual conferences of the Society for Technical Communication for the last 20 years. Suggests a model for future growth. (SR)