Suggestions are presented to assist the nontechnically trained English as a second language teacher to create a syllabus for a technical writing course for foreign students who are studying science and technology. The syllabus for the English for Science and Technology (EST) writing course is based on the format of technical writing derived from…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 23 titles provide information on a variety of topics, including the following: (1) voice and the fictional narrative; (2) the effects of oral response groups before and after rough drafts on writing achievement and apprehension;…

A review of the literature on the effects upon student writing performance of variations in essay examination topics reveals that such research is sparce and that most of it has been done in the past 5 years. The review, which was conducted as part of a project to develop the writing test portion of the Florida Teacher Certification Examination,…

The contribution of philosophy programs within higher education and to the community is considered. It is suggested that philosophy should play a central part in the college curriculum since the study of philosophy contributes to: the development of students' critical thinking, their ability to deal rationally with normative issues, their…

Although much has been said about the influence of reading upon writing, little information is available concerning the effect of writing practice upon reading comprehension. During one experimental study, college freshmen students in a remedial reading course wrote in the expressive mode for ten minutes a day. This simple act of writing, without…

Thinking through Writing (TTW) was a project to develop, test, and disseminate a program for teaching thinking and writing skills in secondary school English and social studies courses. Each of the 12 schools participating in the project scheduled a group of students to take an English and a social studies course in the program, and two teachers…

This booklet, part of the "What If...Series," contains readings and activities which will help secondary or adult students learn about the rights of persons arrested and acquire skills necessary for coping with such a situation. The materials present practical applications concerning the following constitutional rights: the right against unlawful…

Most of the mechanical and content errors in the sentences written by journalism students can be attributed to four faulty patterns that can be traced to errors in the thinking process: fragmented sentence parts, personification, bureaucratic coding ("officialese"), and compressed sentences. While acceptable in spoken communication where…

The Mount Gravatt Language Development and Reading Program described in this paper is the result of a conviction that teachers of reading and writing should build on the impressive and highly functional oral language system which children bring to their formal education for literacy. The paper first presents the language research on which the…

A proficiency test became the exit requirement for the noncredit, basic English course at the University of New Orleans because the program was not working well. There were inconsistencies in grading, and students who managed to pass the course later foundered in the credit courses. Obviously, the teachers needed to cooperate to raise the goals of…

The result of both discussions and individual papers by members of the Intersegmental Committee on Writing Skills of the California Postsecondary Education Commission, this position paper proposes a possible, intersegmental solution to the problem of the inadequacy of student writing skills. After presenting background information on the problem,…

Recent controversies about the quality of writing instruction in the nation's schools are examined in this paper. The first chapter summarizes articles in the news media that have pointed to a crisis in education and cites facts that lend support to an opposing view. Chapters two and three discuss conflicting responses from educators, state…

The proceedings include conference welcomes by Leon R. McCarrey and Peter J. Krueger, six papers, a list of conference participants, and proceedings of previous meetings. "Higher Education: Beacon or Mirror," by Keith Goldhammer, traces the history of higher education and its purposes, calling for renewed efforts to increase its quality…

A method is described for teaching writing to students for whom English is nearly a "first" language by virtue of the nature and circumstances of their use of it. The basic tenet of the approach is that the student can only learn to write well if he has a belief in himself and in the value of his own responses. To write well, the student must…

The justification for including a year-long course in practical writing and editing in a research-oriented university's writing program and a description of that course are presented in this paper. Discussed are the responses to four questions: What is practical or survival writing? How much is there of it? What can a university gain from teaching…