Focusing on procedures and strategies suitable for teaching writing to students in grades 4, 6, and 8, this paper examines the factors that have been shown through research to influence effective writing. The paper divides the research examined into the categories of metacognition; socially-based writing strategies; theory-tested approaches to…

A study investigated the performance in Standard Grade English language of those Scottish secondary-school candidates who were judged to be "average to below-average" and identified changes in grade-related criteria which might lead to improvements in the teaching of basic competencies. Examination scripts and portfolios from over 600…

A study identified and compared writing needs of graduates of Criminal Justice and Drafting and Design programs at Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Community College (WCCC). Subjects, 115 graduates of the programs from 1972 through 1990, completed surveys. A total of 310 questionnaires were sent, for a return rate of 37%. Results indicated that:…

A study examined the ways in which members of low-income Southern African-American families deal with writing in their everyday lives. Three families headed by single parents participated in the study. The researcher resided with each family for 2 months, following the adults to their workplaces, sharing chores and leisure activities, and…

A study compared a traditional text-oriented spelling program to a non-traditional word study spelling program on the basis of four characteristics: students' academic success, students' self-esteem, interest in spelling, and time spent on- and off-task. The sample group consisted of two third grade classes, and both spelling programs had been…

A study described the influence of writing conferences on revision knowledge and revision activity for an initially knowledgeable first-grade reviser and a relatively naive one. Subjects, two first-grade students in a whole language classroom, were chosen from the 16 students in the class for close study. Data analysis consisted of reading all of…

A study examined the nature and frequency of faults and errors in reference list entries and direct quotes selected from all 1988 issues of 16 social and biological science journals. All departures from the original (additions, omissions, or changes) were labelled as either a word or punctuation deviation. Of the 402 quotes verified, 33.33%…

A study examined the nature and frequency of faults and errors in reference list entries selected from 10 journals (principally in the fields of psychology and education). The elements used for data tallying and analysis were: surname, initial(s), and other identifiers, such as Jr. and III; article title; and journal name, volume, issue number,…

A study examined the status of graduate studies in composition at the M.A. level. Open-ended surveys were sent to every M.A.-granting institution listed in "Petersen's Graduate Programs in the Humanities." One hundred eleven surveys were returned (a 39% response). Results indicated that: (1) the average M.A.-granting institution does not…

In a study of writing perceptions held by college faculty in disciplines other than English, 81 faculty members indicated whether each of 67 student writing errors bothered them a great deal, a little, or not at all. Results showed that teachers did not strongly object to errors apparently produced by carelessness or by ignorance of finer…

Almost 600 questionnaires were sent to private and public colleges and universities in a nationwide survey of their revision practices in advanced composition courses. Among the results were the following: (1) the teacher figured most powerfully in any revision activity; (2) a single mode of revision was the prevailing practice; (3) private…

One hundred college remedial writing students participated in a study designed to (1) demonstrate some of the differences between speaking and writing in a controlled situation; (2) test the hypothesis that the writing of subjects who have spoken about a particular topic will be qualitatively superior to the writing of those who have not; and (3)…

To determine if using visual patterns can help technically oriented people create coherent papers, 97 students enrolled in a beginning composition class were given five hours of instruction in the use of the "hub and spokes" (central idea supported by examples), "S-curve" (pro-con), and pyramid (inductive or deductive) formats. Holistic…

Using data collected from 44 college faculty members, a study investigated the personality characteristics of writers, the ways in which highly productive writers differ from less productive ones, differences in writing strategies, and underlying motivations to write. The subjects were all male, tenured faculty members of a midwestern university…

Noting that although a great deal of empirical research has been done to investigate the writing rules commonly taught, this paper points out that no one has yet constructed a deep theory of the relationship between cognition and writing that confirms the writing rules and explains how they work. The paper then uses theories and research in the…