Reviews recent articles focusing on the controversy surrounding the appropriateness of readability formulas for technical writing. Suggests that further research should be conducted to study empirically how readability as a concept might be used to aid the technical writer since readability formulas are shaping computerized editing programs. (KEH)

Compares writing errors made by college freshmen and professional writers. Explains that 20 student essays were compared to 20 essays from the students' textbook, "Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition." Notes that students and professionals were almost equally prone to commit errors. Offers suggestions for improving student writing.…

Reports on a three-year study of the effects of a newly implemented italic handwriting instruction program on students' handwriting legibility. Finds that while italic papers received significantly higher ratings than nonitalic ones, legibility ratings declined over time. Reports that teachers' impressions of the program are generally favorable.…

Investigates the influence of content knowledge on topic choice in children's writing. Finds that children have significantly more knowledge about topics they want to write about than about unwanted or teacher topics. Emphasizes the importance of topic self-selection, and the role knowledge plays in topic choice. (MM)

Investigates the differential effects of ownership opportunities and instructional support on the writing-task engagement of high school students reporting low-, mid-, and high-levels of writing self-efficacy. (RAE)

Uses the metaphor of an ecosystem to describe the interactions, as revealed in a series of writing assignments, between an undergraduate being tutored at the writing center and an undergraduate writing tutor and participant in a writing workshop. (MM)

Analyzes the persuasive essays of high school juniors and seniors to determine the specific rhetorical and linguistic features that contributed to raters' holistic judgments about the overall quality of the essays. Reports that use of logical appeals, five-paragraph structure, coherence, and number of words were strongly correlated with overall…

Examines whether writing in combination with reading prompts more critical thinking than either activity alone, or either activity combined with questions or with a knowledge activation activity. Finds students who both wrote and read made more revisions (prompted by more critical thinking) than students in other treatment groups. (RS)

Investigates the types of processes used by journalistic writers when producing texts of varying constraints. Finds that news story writers paused more often and carried out more activities per writing session than did editorial writers, suggesting greater monitoring activity by news story writers. (MS)

Summarizes information on general and specific uses of computers in teaching business and professional writing. Presents research that examines both general computer usage in business communication courses and specific computer usage, such as electronic communication and text analysis. Provides background information on the importance of college…

Examines the contexts of human-computer interaction, and argues that understanding word-processing research done in that setting can enrich thinking about the impact of teaching writing with the use of computers. Suggests issues developed in recent word-processing studies that may interest future researchers. (KEH)

Suggests having basic writers complete a writing apprehension measure at the beginning and end of the term. Argues that students' responses can help teachers identify problems at the beginning of the term and help students evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses as writers at the end of the term. (RS)

Annotates articles, dissertations, and papers on the subject of research in the teaching of English. Organizes annotations under the categories of writing, language, literature, and teacher education. (MS)

Explores the writing model developed by Linda Flower and John Hayes, examining its usefulness in studying workplace writing from the social perspective. Finds that the model is a valuable tool from the cognitive perspective of composition research but notes its limitations in describing the group processes of collaborative writing. (MG)

Describes the efforts of one teacher-researcher to explore the effectiveness of different peer response strategies in the writing class. Notes that teacher-researcher projects can help to develop and assess writing curricula in ways that are outside the scope of specialists and external evaluators. (MM)