Two studies examined the effects of writing on subject learning. For the first study, 322 ninth and eleventh grade students read passages from high school social studies and science texts and engaged in six writing-to-study conditions. Students who wrote essays scored lower on immediate topic knowledge posttests, while the students who used study…

Twenty-six teachers at a suburban school near Terre Haute, Indiana, responded to a survey to determine the activities used to teach writing in their classrooms. The results suggest the following: (1) writing in elementary classes concentrates heavily on "creative" writing and responses to literature, and should be broadened to include expository…

This booklet provides samples of student writing that exemplify the standards that governed the scoring of student essays on the June 1988 Social Studies 30 Diploma Examination. Copies of the two essay assignments are provided, and five student essays are included for both topics, covering the full range of student writing. Commentaries…

The first goal of a writing-across-the-curriculum program is to convince content area teachers that the movement can aid them in fulfilling their goals. Rather than trying to inspire individual faculty members, the writing-across-the-curriculum program at the Community College of Philadelphia restructures the classroom teaching situation. The…

Students are most likely to retain information presented in the classroom when it is made meaningful and personal to them. Strategies for immersing students in a subject can include, for example, holding an authentic style Roman feast for a Latin class, letting students hold their own "town meeting" and discuss current issues to learn…

Intended for use in curriculum planning, course development, and program evaluation, this report contains data from a study of the writing abilities of entering freshman students at the University of Texas at El Paso. The first chapter of the report provides background information concerning the need for systematic assessment of the writing…

Building upon the National Study of Writing in the Secondary School conducted in 1981, this volume presents the results of recent scholarly inquiry into the nature of writing. Background information for the study is discussed in chapter 1, while chapter 2 describes the additional data that have been gathered since the national survey: a study of…

Intended for college-level basic writers, the program described in this report integrates selected oral communication training with writing instruction. The first section of the report presents a rationale for the program--which uses oral activities to enhance students' development in the underlying rhetorical abilities of invention, audience…

Drawing on the experiences of teachers of writing in elementary through junior high schools, the teaching strategies presented in this collection are grouped into four sections: prewriting, drafting, editing and publishing, and systems. Topics covered in the prewriting section include listening skills; thinking, speaking, and writing;…

A theory of interpretation developed from the composition scholar's reading and revision of literary theory can effectively serve as a core theory in writing across the curriculum programs. For example, recent composition theory, with its emphasis on close study of students' texts and the process of their writing, provides the writing teacher with…

Reviews five books by James Moffett, discussing ways these practical applications of his development theory can be adopted as a course, a program, or a curriculum. Presents Moffett's work as a holistic integrated arts approach that offers a "real writing" alternative to such external controls as standardized tests, formalized writing…

Discusses problems of writing introductions in light of the theories of H. P. Grice, C. Altieri, K. Burke, and Aristotle, illustrated with scientific writing, rhetorical criticism, and student letters and essays. Approaches the introduction as text both about subject matter and about the intended reader, situation invoked, and writer's own…

Presents elementary school children's poetry about a variety of scientific topics. Indicates that children make no false dichotomy between science and poetry. (JK)

Reports on a study using 126 university freshmen to examine the effects of instruction and practice in a discourse structure reading and writing strategy focusing on main ideas, supporting ideas, and central ideas. Indicates the discourse structure treatment is effective and worthy of further study. (NH)

Discusses possible causes of the lack of good reading and study skills among U.S. secondary school students. Describes several techniques for improving these skills. (ARH)