Technical writing instructors generally agree about the absolute need for communication skills throughout the technological work place, but a survey of technical writing journal articles shows a lack of focus on ways to address business's needs for on-the-job literacy. One major advance within the profession in recent years has been the…

Focusing on purpose in the writing of college freshmen, a study examined the writing processes and how they related to the conceptions of purpose of four freshmen enrolled in a composition course at Indiana University. Discourse-based interviews were conducted before and after the students completed three tasks designed to vary their choice of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) reading and writing as a transaction process; (2) a literacy study among the Amish; (3) readers' representations of writers' aims in expository, persuasive, and ironic discourse; (4)…

A survey of graduate writing courses offered at United States universities revealed two rationales for providing graduate level writing instruction: (1) students are underequipped by their undergraduate training for more advanced work, and (2) graduate work demands a different kind and level of writing which schools have a responsibility to teach.…

A study examined the behavior of first graders as they collaborated on a writing exercise using a word processor. Data were collected over three weeks in the form of fieldnotes and 13.5 hours of videotape of students working at the computer. Videotapes were examined to locate patterns of discourse and physical actions, and by abstracting from the…

Noting that although learning disabled (LD) students are attending college in increasing numbers there are few specific course strategies for helping these students (except for adaptations of existing programs and emphasis on elementary or secondary students), this paper reviews resources on a variety of topics as they relate to LD students. Among…

Analysis and assessment of young children's spontaneous writing and drawing in daily journals may focus on three significant dimensions: what, who, and how: what stands for thought and meaning; who, for person; and how, for form. These categories may be further divided. Thought and meaning include theme(s), organization, and vocabulary; person…

Noting that (1) current research suggests that technology may contribute to improved instruction in writing but it does not do so automatically, and (2) while teachers may successfully employ computers with their writing students, their choices of methods remain critical, this paper surveys computer approaches and appropriate software for…

A project followed the development of a curriculum of editing assignments used to bridge the gap between Miami-Dade Community College students' passive command of grammatical rules and active use of them in their writing. Assumptions and strategies used in developing the curriculum included: (1) the idea that editing must be seen as a part of the…

Evaluating the Writing To Read program (a computer-based reading/writing program developed by IBM for kindergarten children), a study examined the impact of the program on student achievement in the District of Columbia Public Schools. Writing To Read teaches students 42 phonetic sounds in the context of words that allow students to begin writing…

A survey of 50 college writing programs to ascertain what kind of training is being offered to student teachers revealed the significance of peer support and involvement and raised the following questions: (1) Can peers offer advice and support which is different from that offered by faculty and administrators? (2) Do graduate student teachers…

Designed to examine the experiences of writing teachers and their students in the United States and the United Kingdom, a comparative study administered questionnaires to "successful" teachers and secondary school students and conducted observational studies in a small number of classrooms in both countries. The sample of 560 U.S.…

Concentrating on theoretical perspectives on reading, writing and language research, this yearbook contains 33 articles which cover the politics of literacy, emergent and early literacy, vocabulary, comprehension, content area reading, writing, and teacher effectiveness. Articles include: (1) "Tomorrow's Readers Today: Becoming a Profession of…

Most school writing required of students is done in artificial situations that have little resemblance to the writing demands people actually face. For this reason, students often fail to see the value of writing and thus produce writing that does not reflect their true ability to communicate. In a bilingual Los Angeles school serving students…

This book recounts the struggles and successes of one Seattle School District secondary school composition teacher guiding special education students through the writing process. The nine students had an IQ range of 59 to 109 and had an age range of 14 to 17 years. Of the students assigned to this class: one was neurologically impaired; one was…