Reports on a study that used two approaches to examine how words are used to create meaning in written discourse in order to illuminate the differences among a group of essays written by 12 developing writers. (HTH)

Describes the methodology and results of a study of the differences between instructors' evaluations of student papers and the evaluations of other students. The results indicated that instructors and college freshmen use different criteria and stances when judging student work. (HTH)

Compositions of 10 high-knowledge and 10 low-knowledge fourth-grade students taught by either academically-oriented or cognitive developmentally-oriented teachers were analyzed in terms of four types of propositions they contained to assess the relative influence of writers' prior knowledge and teachers' classroom lesson structure on students'…

Uses protocol analysis to compare written evaluations given to two student papers by college freshmen with those of instructors of freshman composition. Concludes that many students apply criteria that are significantly and consistently different from those of instructors. (FL)

Reports on a study in which college students wrote compositions that elicited their technical knowledge of three topics, then completed a questionnaire that assessed which of four information sources had contributed to their knowledge of the topics--formal education, mass media, social interaction, and direct experience. (FL)

Describes an informal study to see whether college English majors judged a relative clause as restrictive or nonrestrictive. Most assumed that it was restrictive, based on speech patterns. Suggests that teachers should recognize the fact that a nonrestrictive relative clause is an invention that does not exist in the English language. (HTH)

Compares the performance of students who cooperated on an instruction writing task with that of students who worked alone. Concludes that cooperating dyads can improve the communicative quality of their instruction writing. (FL)

Reports the results of a study exploring the relationship between motivation and writing in college freshmen and refutes the popular theory that most students have a strong desire to express themselves but cannot. (DF)

To identify some of the specific cognitive correlates of high-quality, audience-adapted writing, 35 college freshmen wrote a typical academic essay and also a persuasive appeal directed toward a specific readership. Results showed that social cognition played a more significant role in writing a persuasive message. (HOD)

Presents a study that assesses the impact of business and technical writing courses on English departments and their faculty. Concludes that because of increasing enrollments in business and technical writing classes, a need for people with expertise in composition and literature and for P.H.D. graduates with training in business and technical…

Finds sharp and definable differences in faculty attitudes toward and beliefs about the teaching of composition.

Reports on a study of the use of metaphor and analogy in scientific writing to determine whether the author's analogical style affected the media attention a brochure received and whether it improved the reader's understanding of the content. (FL)

Assessed the effects of students' use of "Writer's Workbench" (a collection of computer textual analysis programs) in the business communication class. Found that assignment grades improved by the third semester, which may reflect the extensive refinements the authors made to the programs after the first two semesters. (PD)

Argues that children want to write and enjoy writing and that teachers need to provide them with suitable opportunities for doing so. Discusses different kinds of writing that allow children's voices to come through. (FL)

Describes a study of the influence of wording changes in essay questions on test performance. Results did not support the hypothesis that such changes would affect writer performance. (HTH)