Examines the effects of word processing on writing quality and the amount of text produced by basic writers. Finds that students using computers wrote more, but that there was no difference in quality between those who used a word processor and those who did not. (MS)

Discusses how the professional writer's approach to writing has influenced current thinking about writing processes. Examines how projects like the Somerset/Wiltshire "Write to Learn" have altered writing attitudes. Provides a list of booklets in the "Write to Learn" Project. (MM)

Examines the work of Linda Flower to explore "control" in writing, approaching her texts from a deconstructive (Derridean) perspective. Concludes that: the paradoxical nature of control has consequences for understanding cognition; and an acknowledgement of these consequences requires a reconsideration of "control" as the…

Investigates the effects an assigned audience has on undergraduates' attitudes, composing strategies, and persuasive writing. Finds that while assigning an audience had a limited effect on essay scores, it increased students' interest, effort, use of audience-based strategies, and ability to persuade. (SR)

Relates problems of law text comprehensibility to the legislative writing process. Describes the drafting of three pieces of Swedish consumer legislation at different stages. Summarizes and analyzes the results in relation to rhetorical and sociolinguistic theories of writing. (SR)

Examines the history of moralizing in students' writing in college writing courses, and tries to determine how assignments that direct students to write about moral issues became entrenched in curricula during the late 19th century at Harvard College, the institution that strongly influenced composition instruction across the country. (SR)

Reports on the results of survey research designed to determine how students feel about peer assistance and group writing. Finds that results were generally favorable, although more problems surfaced regarding collaborative projects than peer criticism. States that statistical analysis of objective and open-ended items yielded suggestions for…

Examines the impact on proofreading accuracy of setting text in monospaced typewriter faces and proportionally spaced typefaces. Finds no significant differences. Notes that proofreading suffered when an irregularly spaced typeface was used. Suggests that text may be checked more thoroughly if its format suggests provisionality. (RS)

Presents generalizations about the editing process in a governmental agency. Suggests that editing is a complex, meaning-making process. Notes that the three vary greatly in their readiness to use their personal authority in interpreting the audience's needs. Suggests that editors gain authority by assuming the role of language specialists and by…

Traces the emergence of authorship in a beginning college writing classroom through two case examples. Finds that although the instructor tried to foster a sense of engagement and commitment, the technical difficulty of the task, students' perceptions of their peers' interests, and a legacy of schooling and culture were equally important concerns…

Surveys 28 expert technical editors regarding their views on editing and how computer-based tools could aid their work. Finds that the editing environment, the process of editing, the skills involved, and the errors found all influenced the types of tools need. Names tools the editors used and suggests others that should be developed. (SR)

Describes a project to train Veterans Administration subject-matter specialists to develop letters that convey the information veterans need in a format and language they can understand. Presents a case study of the effectiveness of a new version of a letter. Finds that the new letter added value by greatly reducing the need for veterans to call…

Responds to an article in this same issue (which commented on these authors' 1993 article in the same journal). Suggests cultural context as another possible factor that may have caused results in the various studies under discussion to be different. (SR)

Shows how compliance-gaining theory (more accurately than the "bad news formula") can help to explain the content and style of two kinds of memos that deliver bad news from managers to subordinates. Finds that features of compliance gaining governing message production explicate the power base, verbal strategies and tactics, and…

Examines the controversy surrounding a 1983 government research report that found that male commanding officers in the United States Navy customarily wrote differently in fitness reports about women than in fitness reports about men. Critiques the writing of several groups, including male and female commanding officers, male newspaper editors, and…