Working with a word processor changes writers' behavior. They compose more easily, less anxiously, and more prolifically. The word processor makes them want to sit down and write and makes them feel good about their writing. It does this by encouraging prewriting and invention, by providing a sense of control and mastery over the actual writing…

English as a second language (ESL) teachers find the newspaper a terrific source for easy-to-prepare reusable materials. Travel ads with coupons from the travel section can be cut out for beginning level students to complete and mail in envelopes they address. Students can find places on maps. In addition, intermediate and advanced students can…

This digest draws upon the thirteen published volumes of "Inside English" to offer a summary of practitioners' advice on techniques to improve two-year college students' writing skills. First, the paper summarizes underlying principles of writing instruction, indicating that: (1) usage, formal grammar, phonics, and spelling are best…

Reflecting the general concern about student writing performance, this book is designed to present recent advances in the theory and practice of assessing writing ability to all teachers of writing, as well as writing examiners and administrators. The book explores (1) reconsidering the links between teaching and assessing writing, (2) the…

In an effort to assess community college students' knowledge of the liberal arts, the Center for the Study of Community Colleges developed and field-tested a student survey and General Academic Assessment (GAA) instrument. The GAA was completed by a sample of 8,024 students at four large, urban community college districts. The scores were cross…

St. Petersburg Junior College's Project Success provides mentoring and other special support services to students with low placement test scores. Teachers, librarians, counselors, and other staff members meet, usually on a weekly basis, with five students per semester to provide support and assistance with problems. The mentors receive reports on…

This course of study presents a competency-based approach to teaching effective writing. It is intended to give the adult educator a tool that can be used for any level of student at any point in writing instruction. The first section contains 48 competencies that address 5 domains of writing--planning, organizing, writing, evaluating, and…

A pilot study concerning the range of writing skills of intermediate students of English as a second language (ESL) is reported. The study identified the clause structures and relative low-order linguistic skills in the writing samples of 25 college students in this group. The method of evaluation of writing samples was a model of conformity to…

Based on research that views students' spelling ability as a result of "over-learning" words, this guide presents techniques and procedures for designing a spelling program integrated with reading and writing. Following an introduction, the first section presents answers to 12 commonly asked questions about spelling, and offers…

This collection of essays by college and high school faculty represents a variety of practical approaches that can be used in composition classes. The essays and their authors are as follows (1) "Undercover Preparation" (Judy Anderson); (2) "Paragraph Development from Visualization: 'a paragraph ain't nothing but a sandwich!'"…

To learn more about the initial effects of word processing on essay-writing performance and on writing apprehension, eight English instructors at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, conducted a one-semester controlled experiment with freshmen in eight randomly selected college writing classes. Eighty students wrote essays using terminals…

Placements in English departments' internship programs are problematic when writing opportunities lack range and/or depth, but at the same time students often have excellent internship experiences despite limited writing opportunities. An examination of the designs and assumptions of the writing skills internship program in the English Department…

Intended to aid schools in designing a Literacy Profile (defined here as consisting of documented information from a variety of assessments of a student's performance over a range of items defined as the dimensions of language learning), this pamphlet presents an alternative to standard assessment techniques. In the form of data tables the…

Under the leadership of the Language Arts Curriculum Committee, the Greater Albany (Oregon) Public Schools conducted its second annual district assessment of writing skills of students in grades 5, 7, 9, and 11, using the "analytic trait scoring" method (ATS). The testing procedure, diagnostic in purpose, conformed to the writing process…

The article outlines six strategies for teaching handwriting to learning disabled elementary students with differing instructional needs. A rationale for the use of each strategy is followed by a step-by-step description of the teaching procedure. Strategy goals include the following: (1) teaching the manuscript alphabet through letter pictures to…