Observation and interviews of the children in two third grade classrooms--one in which children write frequently and learn punctuation skills in context, and one in which children learn punctuation in isolation--suggest that punctuation skills are learned more effectively in context. In interviews the "writers" could explain an average of 8.66…

Skilled and unskilled writers were given detailed information about an urban planning project and then read a letter from an influential, interested, and potentially hostile writer requesting information about the project. Each writer was next asked to generate all the ideas needed to answer the letter, organize a framework for the letter from a…

This guide to writing and publishing in vocational education is divided into four sections. The first section outlines guidelines for writing for professional journals. Specific topics included are (1) writing for your audience, (2) introducing the subject, (3) the why of an article, (4) the how of an article, and (5) ten ways to get your article…

A study was conducted to determine what conditions connected with college students' entering status were associated with significantly increased error reduction during the first semester of freshman composition and what factors connected with preparation made it possible to classify students who proved to be successful--or unsuccessful--in that…

M. A. K. Halliday and R. Hasan have provided a system for analyzing the cohesive relations that enable a sequence of T-units to be considered a complete text. (A T-unit consists of a main clause and all its dependent clauses.) These concepts of cohesion proved effective in analyzing the differences between five "high" and five "low" quality essays…

A study was conducted to investigate: (1) what linguistic and mental abilities are involved in composition; (2) to what extent undergraduate students in India possess these abilities, in English and in their native language; and (3) to what extent these abilities are being taught. The major portion of the paper discusses the nature of composition,…

This manual outlines the procedures necessary for successful implementation of the Project READ-WRITE program. Two components are emphasized: the area of administration, supervision, and coordination; and the area of inservice training. Project READ-WRITE is described as a basic skills program in reading and related language arts designed to use…

The case study described in this paper supports the premise that sentence combining exercises do more to improve student writing than simply producing longer sentences. Following a brief description of a longitudinal study that involved college freshmen in 15 weeks of sentence combining exercises, the paper focuses on the changing characteristics…

College basic writing teachers involved in student/teacher conferences should be aware of the negative effects that result from premature reassurance, assuring students of success too quickly and/or beyond reasonable expectations. The attitudes of basic writers can be divided into three general categories: (1) those who have always had trouble in…

A course in technical writing has justification for appearing in a college English department curriculum if course content as it is currently taught is somewhat modified. In general, business or technical writing has been primarily a study of a wide variety of letter and report writing forms. To be taught as a liberal arts course, a technical…

This report was prepared to assist the United States Army in evaluating the usefulness of readability formulas in identifying material that will be comprehended by readers at a given reading skill level. Existing readability methods and research findings were reviewed against three major criterion questions and the findings are discussed. The…

Visual strategies that involve students in comprehending and writing processes while achieving whole-brain input can strengthen the bond between language and experience. Both the analytical, sequential, left brain hemisphere and the holistic, visual/spatial right brain hemisphere can be stimulated in oral and written expression through the use of…

This collection of abstracts in part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 27 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of second language learning on achievement in English; (2) developmental aspects and effects of variables on prekindergarten, kindergarten, and…

This booklet is one of a series of teacher-written curriculum publications launched by the Bay Area Writing Project, each focusing on a different aspect of the teaching of composition. The purpose of the booklet is to help teachers, parents, and students understand the provisions of contract independent study and how to start an independent study…

This booklet is one of a series of teacher-written curriculum publications launched by the Bay Area Writing Project, each focusing on a different aspect of the teaching of composition. The basic principles of literary cohesion (the way a text hangs together) are discussed and exercises are suggested to help students increase their sensitivity to…