Reviews the objectives of composition within the total English as a second language curriculum. The limitations of popular instructional methods are discussed and the introduction of controlled paragraph rhetoric is suggested. (CFM)

Descriptive grammars based on sets of rewrite rules were constructed to summarize the structure and organization of 120 entries in a second grade student's journal of class news. These rules illuminated the relationship between experience, abstraction, and generation of structure, and the use of structure to express complex thoughts. (PMJ)

A study examined whether writing instruction focusing on organizational patterns has a significant effect on reading comprehension. Writing samples were obtained from 18 second graders, nine of whom received no instruction, while the other nine received instruction on the purpose and use of the topic sentence, adding details to the topic, and…

Superordinates in Halliday and Hasan's analysis of cohesion are lexical items which refer to preceding terms, ideas, or actions, or to whole stretches of discourse, by naming a more inclusive category or class within which the antecedent is included. In written texts the interrelationships between superordinates and more specific terms, or…

This paper describes a classroom game designed to help students overcome their fear of writing. Two classes of top- and middle-ability adolescents were divided into pairs to work on a single composition. After the teacher proposed the initial sentence, the partners took turns writing sentences to complete the story. Although the collaborative…

In contrast to many books that outline in a general way the "best" method for teaching composition and that suggest a few exercises to implement it, this guidebook on expository writing attempts to be comprehensive and emphasizes practicality. Chapters deal with how to organize a composition program, how to mark student papers, and how to teach…

One of the newest theories of reading states that readers rely on graphic, syntactic, and semantic cues to get meaning from a text. In the area of syntax, some recent studies not only support its importance but seem to indicate that sentence combining exercises used in writing classes may improve students' syntax sufficiently to help them in…

Two one-semester English courses, English 50.1 (English Fundamentals), concentrating on sentence construction, and English 50.2 (Basic Writing Skills), concentrating on paragraph development, were devised at Cerritos College (California) in an attempt to improve the effectiveness of the old English 50 (Grammar and Composition), which had combined…

The process of constructing connected discourse varies just as language structure itself varies from one language to another. Different languages combine thoughts in different ways. For the advanced level student of English as a second language, composition instruction is a critical area and should not be left to the typical freshman composition…

Outlines the "sandwich approach" to teaching remedial writing--a technique for teaching students the structure of a paragraph that removes the barriers of unfamiliar vocabulary (e.g. topic sentence, unity) and that appeals to the student's sense of sight and taste. Includes sample exercises for practical application. (NKA)

Current research and legislation show a need for special education instruction to be more closely aligned with general education curriculum and develop strategies that support the development of self determination skills in students with disabilities. The present study embeds self-determination skills of writing annual goals and objectives in the…

This guide is intended for use in conducting a reading lab for a broad group of workers ranging from nonreaders to persons reading at a fifth-grade level. Presented first is a course overview that includes the following: information on the course's targeted population, student selection process, and demographics; strategies for adult remediation;…

This book of supplemental exercises is one of a series of books designed to provide educational materials in addition to the instructional texts in the Adult Learning Skills Program. Exercises in this intermediate level book are for the English subject area. Course numbers and exercise topics are: 701 (subject/verb agreement, reversed subject…

This book examines the ways that writing is taught in this age of technology. The book begins with writing about "tools" (technical writing), considers writing itself as a tool, and concludes with tools that aid writing. The aim is to study the interpenetration of writing and technology in order to determine how technology has affected…

The ten articles in this journal report on research and practice in the teaching of writing. Topics covered include sentence combining as a composition technique, peer evaluation in a technical writing class, a plan for teaching paragraph construction, the use of literary humor in a writing class, methods for setting the scene, how students view…