Noting that the claim that writing is a way to learn underlies most writing across the curriculum programs, this paper provides an overview of recent research results supporting the claim and emphasizes the need for more research in this area. The paper first identifies three dominant interpretations in the writing across the curriculum…

A study compared the effects of two writing tasks (short answer exercises and analytic essay writing) with no writing on high school students' understanding of concepts from prose passages. Baseline data on typical patterns of instruction and students' approaches to writing were obtained using observation and case studies in two history classes,…

Intended for teachers in all content areas, this guide provides activities for teaching formula poetry (poetry written according to a defined format) in all subject areas. First, a rationale for why teachers should include writing in their classrooms is presented. Next, the stages of the writing process are explained and the benefits of formula…

Because a review of the literature shows a relationship between reading and writing, a project devised for teaching college composition classes consists of five assignments, culminating with a formal research paper. Students begin the project by doing research on an essayist chosen from a list provided by the teacher. In the first assignment,…

Although the complexities of the concept of audience in nonacademic settings are gradually being recognized, audience analysis continues to be viewed primarily as a cognitive, problem-solving activity. Grounded in decontextualizing research--such as protocol analysis--this approach to audience assumes that, to inform appropriate writing choices,…

One of a series of Parallel Alternative Strategies for Students (PASS) packages developed to provide Florida teachers with modified appproaches for presenting content courses to mainstreamed exceptional students, this guide was designed as a supplementary text and workbook for a high school English course. The guide is divided into six units of…

A study examined student-teacher writing conferences in a ninth grade English class to uncover what significance this form of instruction has both as a collaborative methodology and as a factor in individualizing the process of learning to write in the secondary school. Subjects included a successful ninth grade English teacher at a public high…

In recent characterizations of reading and writing, the distinctions melt into each other so that one definition serves for both: both are the creation of meaning. In the act of creating meaning, readers become writers and writers become readers. While reading is primarily receptive and writing is primarily productive, fluency in reading is very…

Designed for the classroom teacher, this composition handbook suggests ways in which the teacher can integrate composition activities with the Macmillan language program. The first part of the handbook examines the following research findings: (1) students learn to write by writing, (2) a variety of writing experiences is necessary, (3) the…

Resulting from a summer workshop concentrating on the writing of elementary school children, this booklet begins by reviewing a number of articles read and discussed by workshop participants. The second section, drawing upon the work of Sheila Schlawin, focuses on the composing process and answers a number of questions that teachers have about…

In focusing on recursive writing, the nine articles in this journal issue suggest that student writing should be taken seriously. The first article states that revision should occur throughout the writing process while the second discusses how to invite writers to become active readers of their own texts. The third article presents methods of…

This study is the eighth in a series of reports from the Reading-to-Write Project, a collaborative study of students' cognitive processes at one critical point of entry into academic performance. This report examines the initial reading strategies that a group of participating students used to begin a reading-to-write task and the impact of those…

This study is the ninth in a series of reports from the Reading-to-Write Project, a collaborative study of students' cognitive processes at one critical point of entry into academic performance. This report focuses on ways in which broadly-based cultural and institutional factors silently influence students' reading and writing behaviors.…

One teacher's experience with changes in writing skills and attitudes while teaching writing led to studies of the experiences of three female graduate student writing tutors with widely varying backgrounds working in a university tutorial service. One was a student from a blue collar family who had entered college as a mature student; one had…

Intended to show teachers how their approaches to the teaching of writing reflect a particular area of research and to show researchers how the intuitions of teachers reflect research findings, the articles in this book are classified according to three approaches to writing: processing, distancing, and modeling. After an introductory essay that…