The summary writing skills of 30 hearing-impaired and 30 normally hearing college students were analyzed. Compared to controls, hearing-impaired students included opinions in their summaries more often, included important ideas less often, selected or created topic sentences less often, and integrated ideas within and among paragraphs less often.…

Examination of the correctness of expression of Hong Kong secondary school students in English immersion courses found that, while most pupils obtained average grades in Chinese composition writing, the majority performed below average in English composition writing, and that many pupils lacked the communicative competence to write effectively in…

Explores the history of testing, motivations for testing, testing procedures, and the inevitable limitations of testing. Argues that writing program faculty and administrators must clarify and profess their values, decide what they want students to know and what sort of thinkers they should be, and develop tests reflecting those needs. (SR)

Attempts to infer a standard definition of language skills as they relate to English for academic purposes, focusing on the four traditional skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Skills may or may not include language functions and structures, and they usually imply tasks. (Author/CB)

Elaborates on R. M. Gagne's distinction between lateral and vertical transfer for written composition. Claims that the theory of lateral and vertical transfer as applied to writing is compatible with (1) current conceptions of declarative and procedural cognitive processes and (2) a balanced pedagogy of both student-centered and direct,…

Reviews a program being developed for college freshmen by Educational Testing Service for microcomputer-based instructional diagnostic testing in three areas: (1) written communication skills, (2) reading and study skills, and (3) mathematics. The system's interactive feedback is described as well as student's reactions to the system. (LRW)

Illustrates dimensions of variation in how young children orchestrate or manage the writing process, using data collected from a five-month study of primary grade writers. Finds children's composing behaviors consistent with their apparent intentions and with their styles as symbolizers and socializers in their classroom. (SKC)

Presents and discusses results of study on the specific linguistics needs of Italian scientists who must use English for science and technology for study and work purposes. Writing and listening were considered to be the most difficult skills to master. Questionnaire appears in Appendix. (LMO)

This study investigated whether a global cognitive development construct could effectively predict both concurrent and future Grade 1 achievement in reading, writing, and mathematics and whether there were gender differences in the relationship between the construct and achievement. Sixty-five first grade pupils were selected for the study.…

Investigates the effects of two types of written comments on student compositions and learning of course content. Supports the idea that content comments seem to help students write better essays. Suggests that writing reflectively and thoughtfully about a topic increases learning of that topic. (JK)

Presents ways to develop a series of stories on a single topic. Suggests that a writer must develop fresh facts or a fresh angle for each issue. (JK)

Study compares the vocabulary generated from writing samples of 52 first-grade children in two whole language classrooms with vocabulary contained in the basal reader program. Concludes that whole language instruction does not limit children's exposure to systematic repetition of important vocabulary. (MM)

Describes the use of close-captioned television to motivate high school remedial readers, who must read the captions in order to understand the story. (ARH)

Presents the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Language Chinese Proficiency Guidelines, detailing stages of proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. (CB)

Discusses how the works of Joyce, "Dubliners" and "Ulysses" specifically, can be used to help developing writers learn about the process of writing and as material for writing exercises. (SRT)