There is considerable concern that students do not develop the writing skills needed for school, occupational, or personal success. A frequent explanation for this is that schools do not do a good job of teaching this complex skill. A recent meta-analysis of true- and quasi-experimental writing intervention research (S. Graham & D. Perin,…

In an effort to live up to Elaine Richardson's dictum that educators and researchers must address "the total linguistic, cultural, and historical background of the learner" (19), basic writing scholarship has addressed a wealth of competencies that basic writers bring with them to the university. The literate lives they lead beyond the…

In this paper I examine the dilemma faced by reflexive narrative inquirers who write in the first-person "I" while advocating for a postmodern reading of the "self." This paper asks the question: How can the reflexive educational researcher craft a research narrative that, on the one hand, strives for self-presence, while on the other hand, denies…

Surveys research on rhetorical purpose. Discusses five key questions concerning purpose which emerge from current research: (1) what is meant by purpose?; (2) what are the influences on purpose?; (3) do various groups of writers consider purpose?; (4) how does purpose operate throughout composing?; and (5) how should purpose be taught? (RS)

Examines brain hemisphere theory and research as it relates to writing. Advocates further research into cerebral hemisphere functions and writing. (MM)

Although peer review has been shown to be beneficial in many writing classrooms, the benefits of peer review to the reviewer, or the student giving feedback, has not been thoroughly investigated in second-language writing research. The purpose of this study is to determine which is more beneficial to improving student writing: giving or receiving…

This paper explores the degree of variability in the structure of research article introductions within a single discipline. It is an exploratory study based on the analysis of 20 research articles. The study investigates the differences between two subdisciplines of applied linguistics, namely second language acquisition and second language…

This article reports on one aspect of a larger study which aimed to explore the context-specific experiences of English teachers at tertiary institutions in China (Wette & Barkhuizen, 2007). Data were collected during a professional development program run in the summer of 2006. The program aimed to cover recent trends in the field of second…

This article discusses exchanges between a number of scholars during the 1990s centering on Min-Zhan Lu's controversial essay "Conflict and Struggle: The Enemies or Preconditions of Basic Writing?" In some ways, "Conflict and Struggle" blazed a trail for later work in "hybrid" or "mixed" forms of academic writing while at the same time igniting…

Discusses the process of writing usable instructions, relying on organization, formatting, and visual displays to aid comprehension. (JAD)

Investigated fixations of the psychosexual stages in Freud's Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious. Results indicate that the one fixational area which seems quite repressed in Freud's unconscious is anality. This finding is related to the hypothesis that anal drives are by necessity repressed in productive individuals in order to allow for…

Distinguishes between different kinds of positivism. Describes three logical positivist doctrines (physicalism, operationalism, and the unity of science) which became interwoven into the behaviorist rhetoric of the 1940s and 1950s. Argues that despite the historical influence of positivist texts, other epistemologies, especially constructivist and…

Investigates passive voice in scientific writing by examining whether changes in rhetorical role within 12 scientific texts are paralleled by changes in the relative number of passive and active structures. Finds passive structures more appropriate for expository purposes (describing procedures and presenting data), and active structures for…

Discusses a theoretical framework for situating interpretations of textual data collected during research. Describes the framework as consisting of a continuum representing the range of interpretative assumptions (stances) researchers can bring to their reading of textual data. Presents the boundaries of the continuum to be the two most extreme…

Contrasts ideas of culture in social constructionist and cultural study research designs, addressing how each type of design impacts issues that can be analyzed in research studies. Explores implications for objectivity and validity in speculative cultural study research. Suggests how technical writing can be constituted as an object of study…