This handbook is one of a set of six which provide a systematic means to help students in grades 4 through 8 learn the process of writing while building specific writing skills. The handbook focuses on sentence skills, and offers 30 reproducible lessons, in a variety of formats, to help students write simple, compound, and complex sentences. The…

This handbook is one of a set of six which provide a systematic means to help students in grades 4 through 8 learn the process of writing while building specific writing skills. The handbook focuses on notetaking and outlining skills, and offers 25 reproducible lessons, in a variety of formats, which give students practical experience in…

The purpose of this booklet is to illustrate and compare three important levels of expectation, or standards, that have been set for diploma examination writing in English 33 in Alberta, Canada: "3 Satisfactory,""4 Proficient," and "5 Excellent." The booklet presents exemplar papers that were used to illustrate the…

This guide discusses the kinds of documents that college faculty are often asked to write, each with a specific format and containing certain kinds of information. The guide examines some of the more important kinds of memos, letters, reports, and proposals; offers many suggestions about writing them effectively; and describes the formats for each…

Expressing concern that interest in hand lettering and calligraphy has diminished due to limited career applications, seventeen U.S. master calligraphers who teach or have taught calligraphy were interviewed. The calligraphers made six suggestions that have implications for educators: (1) italic based alphabets, rather than the current forms of…

This set of learning modules was developed during a project to deliver workplace literacy instruction to individuals employed in the more than 50 businesses related to the activities of the Port of Baltimore. It is intended to accomplish the following objectives: familiarize students with components of clear and direct sentences; give students…

Emphasizing real-life communication skills, this book offers cooperative activities to help teachers supplement their writing programs with easy-to-use critical thinking activities. The activities in the book are suitable for grades 4 through 8, for gifted younger students, or as a remediation tool for older students. The activities in the book…

A practicum, in an alternative high school work setting, was designed to deal with the problem of a deficiency in the writing ability students needed to express themselves skillfully and adequately. The goal was to increase writing involvement and writing ability. The objectives included the organization of a writing program, the improvement of…

A study investigated whether students who are given experience in writing would improve the quality of their writing over the course of an academic year, and whether the amount of improvement would be associated with the amount of instructional writing experience across the curriculum. A 50-minute essay exam designed to assess writing skills was…

Noting that recent changes in philosophy and classroom practices in teaching reading and writing have had a major impact on language arts instruction and have caused concern among some parents and teachers, this position paper urges a balanced approach that meets the needs of the children as well as the concerns of the community. An overview of a…

Three articles on near-native English language proficiency are presented. "Attitudes to English Usage: A Comparison between Native and Non-Native Speakers," by Ann-Christin Miemois, reports on a study of attitudes toward usage of certain lexical items in English in four distinct situations. Subjects were natives of Finland and New…

This learning module is intended to improve the writing and business communications skills of individuals working in health care occupations. The module, which is designed to be presented in a 6-week course of twice weekly 2-hour sessions, targets an audience with basic grammar and punctuation skills but no formal introduction to the process of…

This paper suggests that vocabulary knowledge is closely related to the background knowledge required for reading a text. It suggests ways in which the reading teacher can select objectives for pupils to achieve in the area of vocabulary development, emphasizing what is relevant and functional. The paper makes the following recommendations:…

A program was implemented to help improve 12th grade Honors English students' writing skills through conferencing. The targeted group consisted of 13 students who experienced difficulties in writing effective written pieces. Their writing included fragments, run-on sentences, and improper use of punctuation. On the Stanford Achievement Test given…

The purpose of this study is to determine whether college juniors and seniors view their freshman-writing instruction as beneficial and to assess its impact on the writing they do within their specific disciplines. Although a great deal of theory surrounds the teaching of freshman writing, very little research has been done to assess its…