Most of the 24 books reviewed in this annotated bibliography concern writing and are recent publications (1980-1985). Titles and authors are as follows: "Teacher" (Sylvia Ashton-Warner); "What Did I Write? Beginning Writing Behavior" (Marie M. Clay); "Composing: Writing as a Self-Creating Process" (William E. Coles);…

After a short introductory chapter to this literature review on composing processes, the second chapter examines research that covers the timing and content of planning, planning subprocesses, employing planning strategies, and instruction in planning. Studies in the third chapter are divided into two sections, oral and written discourse…

A study sought to determine the relationship between grammar competency and success in a business communication course. Students completed a written English competency test consisting of 25 sentences, each with one of eight kinds of errors, including comma splice and incorrect pronoun reference. Students were then asked to choose the one…

Eighteen fourth grade students and twenty sixth grade students participated in a study to determine if there was a significant difference in the quality of written composition among students exposed to the peer editing process as opposed to those exposed to teacher editing. The control group consisted of 8 fourth grade students and 10 sixth grade…

Noting that the problem of writer's block is often rooted in such cognitive difficulties as rigid or inappropriate composing rules and planning strategies, this study approaches writer's block as a measurable problem that can be analyzed and remedied. The introductory chapter defines writer's block and pertinent terms, discusses a cognitive model…

A study was conducted to determine whether a relationship existed between developmental English students' perceptions of the usefulness of writing in their lives and their performance in composition classrooms. Students enrolled in the developmental English course and the companion writing center course completed a writing attitude questionnaire.…

One strategy used to improve teaching at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, is a six-year writing across the curriculum project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Faculty from 14 departments spend a year teaming with a member of the writing department; following that year of paired teaching, the content faculty become…

A study was conducted to determine whether evaluators of large scale essay tests respond the same way toward essays written by English as a second language (ESL) and non-ESL students. The data examined came from the English Placement Test (EPT) administered in the province of British Columbia, Canada, in March 1979. The test was used to identify…

An experiment was designed to test an instrument that could assist writers and editors in selecting strategies for improving the comprehensibility of written instructions. In addition, the study examined how successful professional writers are in improving passages selected for difficulty. The subjects, 150 experienced writers, were given an…

A review of dozens of journal articles and books on the subject of writing across the curriculum reveals the following basic assumptions that seem to characterize most college writing across the curriculum programs: (1) writing is a complex and developmental process; (2) writing should be used to promote learning; (3) the teaching of writing is…

Drawing upon the processing, distancing, and affective streams of writing research, a study examined the relationships among key variables in the writing of sixth through twelfth grade students: grade level, writing ability, knowledge of appropriate and inappropriate writing behaviors, and writing apprehension. Subjects, 496 students from an urban…

Based on a study dealing with problem-finding behavior of artists as the first step in the creative process (Getzels and Czikszentmihalyi), this study on the empirical nature of problem-finding included middle school students from a suburban-rural area in Western Pennsylvania. Eight students identified through three measures as creative were…

One objective of the International Study of Achievement in Written Composition was to develop an instrument that could explore the relationships between instructional variables and educational results. Three levels of specificity were aimed at: (1) broad and general characteristics of the instructional process; (2) specific dimensions of native…

A study was conducted to document the written language of kindergarten children as a transaction among writers, teachers, and the writing process. Six children's writing processes and two teachers' instructional behaviors were examined using videotaped observations during an eight month period in two kindergarten classrooms. Writing products of…

A college expository writing instructor investigated how students perceive teacher intervention during the writing process and how written teacher comments affect successive drafts of student compositions. During the semester, four students were asked to react on tape to the comments the instructor wrote on the second drafts of their compositions…