This guide was developed to help teachers prepare adult students for the essay writing section of the General Educational Development (GED) tests. It informs teachers of what is expected of students on the essay section of the GED examination, and leads them through the writing process in preparation for teaching students how to write an essay.…

Developed to increase student ability to communicate effectively in a growing range of situations, this kindergarten through grade eight writing and speaking program is based on clusters of instructional and performance objectives for each grade level. The guide begins with a discussion of the goals of education, a point of view about language…

This paper reviews political symbols aimed at the United States found in "Granma Weekly Review" and in Fidel Castro's speeches to see if they have changed in a predicted manner over an 18-year period and whether changes in symbol content of "Granma" and Castro's speeches correspond. The paper first explains the functions of the…

To explore student facility with argumentative writing, 40 persuasive essays of 5th, 7th, and 11th grade students were analyzed for their relative percentage of reporting (narrating), interpreting, generalizing, and speculative sentences. Fifth and seventh graders were found to use significantly more narrative and fewer generalizations than older…

The outline of a 2-hour-per-week public speaking course developed over the past 3 years for sophomore English language majors at National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, is described. The course is built around rhetorical modes, with informative speaking (e.g., process and comparison/contrast), the focus of the first semester and persuasive speaking…

A study was conducted to determine what oral and written communication courses lawyers both perceive as useful in practice and recommend for prelaw students and to provide data for design and development of these and related courses in continuing education programs for lawyers and legal assistants. A total of 295 lawyers from California responded…

Developing individuals who can think and read critically when confronted by the language of commercial and political persuaders is an important goal of reading instruction and of education in general. To make students capable of dealing with the omnipresent propaganda of the modern world, teachers themselves must have a functional concept of…

Drawn from a l985 conference focusing on curriculum for small college speech communication programs, the articles in this journal issue deal with issues related to curriculum development and enrichment in small colleges. Articles in the first section discuss chairing the small department. Specific topics addressed include speech communication…

A study was made of the crucial role of the college dean in implementing curriculum changes in schools of education. With the passage of the Education for Handicapped Children law, reform in teacher education programs became necessary. College deans were given federal grants along with the responsibility of overseeing major educational…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the campaign communication during the Carter-Ford television debates; (2) apprehensiveness and performance in public speaking; (3) a history and criticism of…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 titles deal with the following topics: the rhetorical dimensions of nondiscursive, fragmentary communication; perceptions of persuasion situations and the question of transituational consistency of behavior; alcohol use and…

A study conducted in four Wisconsin secondary schools attempted to measure student abilities in evaluating verbal argument and to determine the grade level at which verbal argument concepts and skills should be appropriately taught. Seven tests, known as the Wisconsin Tests of Testimony and Reasoning Assessment (WISTTRA), were administered to 3000…

This book, for either college or secondary-school speech or rhetoric courses, defines persuasive speaking as essentially a process or activity and discusses the elements which facilitate analyzing that process. Sections deal with (1) the nature and history of persuasive speaking, especially classical and modern canons of rhetoric, (2) the…

Emanuel M. Berger's scale for testing the expressed acceptance of others is based on statements describing behavior, particularly verbal communicative behavior, of others, in a study of 561 subjects, Berger's scale evidenced need of modification in explaining small group interaction and especially the differing attitudinal responses of males' and…

Lying and interpersonal manipulation seem to be in the communicational and behavioral repertory of all people, yet little scientific data are known about these phenomena. Deception and Machiavellianism in interpersonal verbal and nonverbal communication can be observed through content and interaction analysis as manifest in visible and audible…