Compares students' perceptions of themselves as readers and as writers. Finds that students in a traditionally academic classroom defined writing as handwriting, while students in the other classroom (which used an emergent literacy approach) saw themselves as authors despite the fact that some students were still in the early stages of writing.…

Profiles and interviews Donald Graves--writer, teacher, thinker, researcher, and recipient of NCTE's Award for Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts--about his research on children's writing, his work in the field, his thoughts about directions for the future, and influences on him. (SR)

Extends a conversation begun in response to issues the authors identified in their own work as writers of qualitative research and in the works of others. Discusses theory, methodology, representation and legitimation, and writing and write-up of qualitative research. (RS)

Discusses the problems (and some causes) in the writing of Asian college students. Interviews college English professors who have taught Asian students. Suggests methods to help Asian students be more successful in composition classes. (SR)

Research on the context and process of essay writing demonstrates its utility in developing reflection and self-appraisal. Essay writing teaches students to be evaluative in their writing and in their learning. (SK)

Discusses the development of a pragmatic model of the writing process in the workplace, focusing on the importance of "drafting" as part of that process. Discusses writers' attitudes about drafting and the structures of the workplace that drafting has to accommodate. Introduces a drafting model and discusses results of using this model…

Examines the relationship between computer-user interface (character-based or graphical) and the quality of documents written by college students. Finds that, after six weeks of business communication instruction, IBM users excelled on the criteria of mechanics and format, but that after five more weeks the two groups demonstrated no significant…

Finds that root organizational metaphors significantly influence writers' rhetorical choices and perception of their communication role. Shows that 23 staff writers described their communication activities in mechanistic terms, which complements their organization's view of itself as a smoothly operated machine, and explains why writers were not…

Discusses the rationale and uses for personal or personalized writing in composition, literature, and content-area classes, and in curriculum conceptualization, research, and assessment in writing. Discusses relevant research studies and pedagogical criticisms of these kinds of writing assignments. Suggests that an excessive emphasis on personal…

Assesses writing attitudes and epistemologies of 117 first-year and 329 upper-level undergraduates. Uses attitude scales and epistemological scales. Finds that students with higher "evaluatism" scores tended to enjoy writing more, and that differences in attitudes and epistemologies emerged between men and women and among upper-level students in…

Examines nine of the most widely accepted tenants of composition theory to derive approaches for teaching business communication. Discusses grammar, correcting, positive feedback, evaluation and written comments, quality versus quantity, self-evaluation, reading, planning and prewriting, and active involvement. (SR)

Claims that the contextual nature of "results" sections in scientific articles remains largely unexplored. Examines scientific publications by biochemists. Identifies six rhetorical moves common to such articles. Demonstrates the rhetorical nature of science writing. (HB)

Describes the experience of helping a student revise a personal, expressive piece of writing into a transactional essay. Discusses the pros and cons of such guidance. Concludes with a strong defense of conferencing. (HB)

Examines a writing conference between a tutor and a student, both feminists. Discusses the conflicts expressed by the tutor and the student as they attempt to espouse feminist values within a patriarchal system. Concludes that feminism (and good tutoring) will have a chance only if students have options and the power to choose. (RS)

Describes a self-study in which a group of part-time composition instructors examined their practices for commenting on students' papers. Concludes that their commenting pedagogies had more to do with ubiquitous political ramifications of being marginalized part-timers or temporary appointees than they would have liked to admit. (RS)