Reviews college students' compositions describing the acquisition of their literacy skills. Reports that males' anecdotes tend to reflect individual achievement and competition, whereas females' writings display a process and cooperation focus. Argues that new research must be conscious of these differences, or gender-blind studies may be…

Describes how a teacher-as-researcher project led the author to create more opportunities for remedial high school students to "talk out" their writing as a prewriting exercise. (MM)

The rapidly expanding literature on the development of language skills and the relationship of language to learning is examined for insights into college writing instruction. Shifts in emphasis in recent research and practice are discussed and new concepts on which to base instruction are proposed. (Author/MSE)

Reports a two-phase ethnographic investigation documenting peer conference activity among fourth graders in a writing workshop. Investigates, in phase one, what happens in peer conferences and how that relates to instructional context. Investigates, in phase two, comments about revision, participant expectations, and use of peer comments during…

Explores the decision patterns of good and below-average college freshman writers regarding available information on audience and topic. Finds that both groups tended to defer audience considerations until the revision stage. (KEH)

Surveys recent feminist research on gender differences in social and psychological development, and shows how this research and theory may be used in examining student writing, thus suggesting directions that a feminist investigation of composition might take. (SR)

Discusses how research in error analysis and discourse analysis can help teachers understand basic writers. Argues that the role of teachers is to recognize basic writers' attempts to construct meaningful prose by focusing on both the meaning of the text and the meaning of students' writing errors. (MM)

Reports on a study of eighth graders who were given a series of lessons in which they were asked to write narratives about themselves. Suggests that "lifewriting" helped students, especially English-as-a-Second-Language students, to understand themselves and their pasts better and helped them to become more engaged by the possibilities of writing.…

Describes and analyzes a young deaf girl's written products from the home setting from age three to seven. Examines her working hypothesis towards the forms of print and compares to those of young hearing children, revealing the diversity of paths all children take in becoming writers and readers. (SR)

Describes a project in an English-as-a-Second-Language classroom in which 18 students from 10 cultures drew cartoons of their personal writing processes, giving the teacher insight into individual differences that allowed her to tailor writing instruction to student needs. (SR)

Describes the problems inherent in the attempt to bring a politics of location to composition. Foregrounds the problems of assuming such an approach. Proposes ways for composition researchers to theorize their locations through self-examination. Proposes changes in research practice based on the same insights. (HB)

Considers the written genres of a group of six children in a first-grade classroom. Reveals the children to be active participants in the social dialogue of their classrooms. Outlines their use of genres and describes where these genres may have come from. (HB)

Describes the questions pertinent to the use of blind peer reviewers for refereed scholarly journals. Discusses the pros and cons of using peer reviewers. Outlines the findings of a research study to determine how authors perceived their relationship with peer reviewers, and the usefulness of peer reports. (HB)

Describes the relationship between reading and writing and considers its treatment in scholarly research. Explores relationships between writing and reading as they emerge in autobiographical accounts of literacy developments. Analyzes numerous interviews of people remembering literacy experiences. (HB)

Uses a case study to explore the concept of academic authority and how it manifests itself in written arguments. Investigates how differences in authority are played out in the academic environment. Examines how the lack of authority shapes the reading and writing practices adopted by students. (HB)