As an interesting development in recent literary criticism, reader response can enhance a composition class in many ways. Reader response, by incorporating both intellect and feeling into an aesthetic reaction to literature, restores the subjective aspect that some forms of criticism deny. Three main elements compose the repeated cycle of a…

The first of a planned series of papers, this document describes in detail a context for writing created by a teacher and her second grade class. Section one includes the teacher's diary of plans for using an imaginary doll, "Mr. Togs the Tailor" as a context for learning during most of a term and selected children's writing on such topics as Mr.…

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);…

For basic writers, learning to write means learning new syntactic and textual forms and new ways of relating to an audience. This means that students must have certain kinds of knowledge about what differentiates writing from speech and what distinguishes sentences and texts/paragraphs that are focused and explicit. In addition, an enabling…

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…

Today's students are presented with a confusing perspective on writing that, on the one hand, defines the production of a written text as an act that simply transcribes thoughts and, on the other hand, defines writing as in and of itself an act of knowing. Teachers confound the student writer's schizophrenia by reinforcing the "product"…

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…

To determine what pedagogical uses the primary trait system might serve apart from providing a means to assess students' writing, data were collected from 11 elementary and junior high school teachers who had participated in an earlier week-long workshop on primary trait scoring. Participating teachers were asked to complete a log of their…

Three arguments are proposed in favor of writing without an audience. The first states that even though ignoring the audience may lead to worse writing at first, it will often lead to better writing in the end. The intimidating nature of the teacher or an unknown as audience supports this. The second argument states that writing without an…

Observation and investigation indicate that academic writing tasks are generally quite different from those required in standard English composition courses, with respect to both process and product. Writing instruction in English as a second language should prepare students for subject-matter writing tasks, focusing less on pure composition.…

This compilation of articles on computer applications in writing instruction deals with the areas of prewriting, editing and grammar, word processing research and applications, and programs for the writing process. It contains the following papers: "Recollections of First-Generation Computer-Assisted Prewriting," by Hugh Burns; "Computer-Based…

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…

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…

Intended for both elementary and secondary school teachers who have little or no experience in teaching creative fiction writing, this booklet presents sample lesson plans for writing short stories, fables, myths, mysteries, science fiction, and historical fiction. The lesson plans discuss such elements as plot, setting, characterization, mood,…