Using a random sample of 493 persuasive papers written by 17-year-olds during the 1978-79 National Assessment of Educational Progress writing evaluation, a study investigated the relationships among features of textual cohesion and primary trait assessments of writing quality and coherence, with manuscript length held statistically constant. (HOD)

Outlines research done by teachers on writing apprehension and concludes that teachers are natural researchers because they continually pose questions about the nature of their students and the effectiveness of their teaching. (SRT)

Describes a study that developed a valid method of assessing coherence based on current linguistic theory and discourse analysis that was then used to reanalyze the "Describe" essays written by 13- and 17-year-old students for the 1969, 1973-74, and 1978-79 NAEP assessments. (HOD)

Presents a sequence of assignments that provides an inductive method for preparing students to write a formal proposal by imitating the grant review and proposal process. Describes the process and results of peer review of the resulting proposals.(HTH)

Relates how a microcomputer with word processing capabilities can facilitate and enrich a student's writing. (HOD)

Describes a study that examines the responses of teachers of English as a second language (ESL) to student writing. Results show that the ESL teachers misread student texts, are inconsistent in their reactions, make arbitrary comments and corrections, impose abstract rules and standards, and rarely offer specific strategies for revising the test.…

Demonstrates how an integrated approach toward writing evaluation works at each stage of the writing process and presents a checklist teachers can use to assess whether their students use specific behaviors of the writing process as they compose. (FL)

Describes how microcomputers can assist in grading the work of beginning writers, especially repetitive errors, and how students respond to this practice. (FL)

Offers personal reflections on the testing of writing, concluding that teachers make wide and effective use of a variety of test types. (FL)

Describes a replication of a study to determine what international writers and evaluators bring to their respective tasks in an effort to devise an international scoring scheme. A satisfactory list of rating criteria was developed, although the criteria were value-laden and thus embedded in a cultural context. (HTH)

Advocates modeling as an appropriate approach to teaching composition, provided teachers select models carefully and present them as paradigms of dynamic processes and as hints leading to avenues of discovery. Uses N. Scott Momaday's "The Way to Rainy Mountain" to illustrate how such a model can be used to assist student invention. (RBW)

Provides a description of how nongraded, descriptive assessment works in responding to the written assignments of some postgraduate students. (HOD)

Advantages of peer evaluation of writing are outlined, questions that arise once instructors decide to use this method are presented, and steps to develop students' awareness of what to look for and what to say about the writing of peers in English composition and other disciplines are discussed. (MBR)

Examines coherence between sentences in a paragraph, arguing that readers require coherence at this level as well as between paragraphs. Discusses continuative and discontinuative relationships between sentences, including (1) sequence, (2) exemplification, (3) addition, (4) replacement, (5) contrast, and (6) alternation. (HTH)

Concludes that mechanics had a greater influence on raters' judgments of student writing than either content or rating instructions. Findings suggest that evaluators may not be able to focus on individual criteria of writing quality. (FL)