In an age when the paperless office is fast becoming a reality, the need for a paperless writing course has arisen. This paper presents an easy and inexpensive way to design a paperless writing course by taking advantage of the annotation feature available on many word processors, such as Microsoft Word or Lotus Ami Pro. The annotation feature…

An exercise in the evaluation of errors in Spanish (second language) composition is reported. The exercise, based on J. M. Hendrickson's "discovery" approach to learning, concerned correction of three error types: lexicon; grammar; and spelling. Subjects were 13 native English-speaking university students in a Spanish language program. In the…

The use of critical thinking and collaborative learning enhances the research process by establishing a disciplined yet supportive research and publication procedure. In addition, these methods provide common assumptions about the validity and reliability of research findings, while encouraging diverse points of view. Critical thinking helps…

With each technological advancement--telephone, automobile, television, and modem--people gain convenience, efficiency, and speed; they lose immediacy, real as opposed to virtual community, and physicality. At a writer's computer conference, journal writers who have used a diary with a lock and key to keep writings private wonder how to reconcile…

For much of this century, text linguists have recognized that various tokens called "metadiscourse" may help explain how texts function. In linguistics, metadiscourse has a more concrete meaning than it typically does in composition: it refers to specific words, phrases, and clauses which are primarily intended to help the reader…

This collection of essays is introduced by Paul Connelly, who focuses on how the essayists encounter problems boldly and recognize opportunity in them--the essays are less local reports of various successful process approaches to teaching writing than a record of the willingness to experiment, to take risks, to learn. The essays and their authors…

This book provides the framework for the language arts core curriculum in Alabama's K-12 public schools. Course content, presented as student outcomes in the book, is minimum and required by state law. Student outcomes are specific but not exhaustive. In addition to the prescribed core program, the book contains an introduction; program goals and…

Names themselves have great power. Teachers and students of language know that certain words resonate and have the power to make connections to forces that cannot always be identified, or, at least, named. Names are certainly in this category of words--they define an individual, tell who he or she is, and connect a person to his or her ancestors…

A qualitative pilot study investigated the influence of nonfiction learning activities upon the level of student engagement, writing growth, and the quantity of students' nonfiction compositions. The participants were 19 third-grade students and 19 fourth-grade students, plus the 2 teachers of the respective classes. Nonfiction writing instruction…

Although most learning disabled (LD) adult learners have a strong desire to enhance their writing skills, many obstacles hinder their success. Characteristics of LD students found in their writing or actions include the following: frustration; poor study/note taking skills; test anxiety; lack of social skills; a difficult time following oral…

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 editorial skills, and offers 25 reproducible lessons, in a variety of formats, which focus on a specific writing improvement skill, such as writing…

Advertising in the mass media contains a wide variety of psychological, emotional, and cultural messages. In basic skills and English-as-a-Second-Language writing instruction, ads can be used to exemplify writing models presented in class. Basic skills students often come to writing classes discouraged or prepared for failure, and the structure of…

Drawing from a review of the literature on feedback in two fields, English education and social psychology, this paper sets forth a set of theoretical conclusions and practical suggestions for developmental English instructors and others to use in providing feedback to composition students. First, the research on written feedback in English…

A reason for failure at reading and writing of Pacific children may lie in the social behaviors which children bring to the classroom. A well documented example from America demonstrates that the uses of literacy in two very different communities were related to social factors: literacy was functional in character and enabled the members of the…

The booklet is divided into two parts: theory and method. Theory includes: (1) About corresponding rules for project work and process writing; (2) Introduction to process writing; (3) How to organize the teaching in primary and lower secondary school with only a few computers; (4) What about children who are not familiar with the keyboard?; (5)…