Disproves two assumptions about the development of written language by examining the spontaneous writing of a young child. Expounded primarily by James Britton and associates, the assumptions are (1) children's early writing is relatively undifferentiated in function, and (2) the primary starting point for young writers is writing stories. (HTH)

Concludes that textual analysis with computers intrigues college writers and speeds learning of editing skills by offering immediate, reliable, and consistent attention to surface features of their prose. (HOD)

This study compared ISTEP+ (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress) writing test scores before the implementation of a writing improvement program with ISTEP+ writing test scores. The study was conducted two years after such a program was implemented. Data from two groups was collected for this comparison. The first group used was the…

Educators who teach students to write often teach students to create using the writing process. Students are encouraged to brainstorm topics, write a first draft, revise based on the response from a teacher or fellow student, proofread, and generate a final draft. Teachers maintain that students are often motivated by the use of technology to…

The TCC/FIPSE Writing Coalition, the joint project between Tidewater Community College (TCC) (Virginia) and the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), was developed in an effort to eliminate remedial instruction in writing for recent high school graduates. The project is an outgrowth of student-centered approaches to instruction…

Despite educators' efforts to understand the process of composition, writing remains a mercurial process difficult to see or describe, even partially. Writing is a process even more difficult to grasp when the writer is possessed of a language--Chinese, for example--and must rely on that language to take possession of and write in a second…

An in-process longitudinal study examined what happened to remedial readers and writers placed into college-level remedial English classes after they left the remedial program. Subjects were 61 students (40 African Americans and 21 Caucasians) who had randomly been placed into two remedial English classes. Data included interviews with the…

Providing guidance to teachers of young children in schools and early childhood programs, this paper presents a position statement that summarizes the current issues in learning to read and write and reviews what is known from research on young children's literacy development. This review of research (divided into sections birth through preschool,…

This study describes strategies used to increase student confidence in their overall writing achievement. The targeted population consists of third and fifth grade students from the same district located in a northwest suburban area. This community is located near a large metropolitan city in a midwestern state. Lack of confidence in student…

This paper builds upon the "Review of Research and Other Related Evidence" that was commissioned for the government of the United Kingdom's National Literacy Strategy and also upon a subsequent review of international research evidence on children's writing. The paper suggests how "synergy" (combined effect) may be created by…

Developed as a vehicle of communication for the Reading Recovery Council of North America, this journal represents an international effort to connect researchers, teachers, and all those interested in early literacy. Articles in the first issue of this fourth volume are: "The Development of Literate Potential in Literature-Based and…

A study compared two approaches to teaching 38 grade 4 students in Canada to write trickster tales. By integrating understandings from cognitive and neo-Piagetian theory into instructional method, a novel approach to writing instruction was created. The compositions of children taught via this method were compared to those of students who…

This report describes a program for improving writing skills through choices of structured and unstructured writing process. The purpose of this program is to increase their ability to produce quality writing as measured by the district's fourth grade writing rubric. The targeted population consisted of an average fourth grade class, located in a…

This document compiles the one-page state "snapshot reports" for the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment at grade 8. In 2002, 44 states and 6 jurisdictions at grade 8 participated in the writing assessment. Three states at grade 8 did not meet minimum school participation guidelines for reporting…

When children begin school many of them do not anticipate the grammatical patterns and word choices that accompany written language, and which make written language so different from spoken language. It is for this reason that young students need varying degrees of scaffolding--teacher and peer support that enables them to gain increasing control…