Michigan Technological University is designing a series of computer modules for supplementary, process-based writing instruction. The Wordsworth II program will lighten the workload of composition instructors by involving students in an individualized writing program outside the regular classroom. It is a sophisticated and interactive program…

Making the process-oriented writing center an integral part of the community, as well as of the campus, can be crucial to ensuring its survival. Using students as tutors gives the center free tutoring and the students "hands on" experience. To reach students, the director can provide campus-wide publicity and attend meetings for…

Teaching always occurs in a rhetorical context. It involves discovering and maintaining a proper balance among three elements at work in any communicative effort: the available arguments about the subject itself, the interests and peculiarities of the audience, and the voice of the speaker. Teacher management of the classroom, writing assignments,…

In addition to its other services, the writing center offers its staff professional skills that can be of advantage in careers ranging from teaching to business. First of all, graduate students who have tutored have an advantage when applying for assistantships, for they already have experience in conveying content and developing student skills.…

Imaging, or disciplined daydreaming, can be used in the composition class to expose students to their innate creativity, lessen writing anxiety, refresh memories before writing of personal experiences, and make impersonal subjects, such as historical events, vital and personal. Teachers can construct a classroom imaging session (which takes about…

People construct macrostructures to reduce and organize incoming semantic information. When they make a prediction on a paper's outcome based on the work's first sentence or paragraph, readers are using preliminary input to construct a macroproposition about the paper's focus. The macrostructure may be explicitly stated--either in the opening…

The writing test at Colorado State University determines which students move from basic composition into the college composition course. Initially, all incoming students take a placement test similar to the holistically scored writing tests administered by the Educational Testing Service. This placement test, along with other information, provides…

Based on research using participant and nonparticipant observation in a natural setting, a study examined how teaching practices, classroom conditions, and student differences influenced the design of writing lessons in 14 English classes in five inner city schools. Data were collected from five sources--interviews, writing samples,…

Focusing on the sociolinguistic dimensions of literacy, this sourcebook builds upon Mina Shaughnessy's contributions to the study of basic writing by gathering together contemporary research, theory, and practice on the subject. The 39 essays and their authors include: "Defining Basic Writing in Context" and "Perspectives on…

This report summarizes and synthesizes current research on the effects of using word processors on students' writing performance. The report examines cognitive models of the writing process, issues in the assessment of writing performance, and research on instruction in keyboarding. The work was carried out as part of a course requirement by…

Two studies investigated three questions: (1) Do second language learners provide mostly faulty feedback to their peers in evaluating written composition? (2) Is peer feedback more or less effective than teacher correction? and (3) Do second language learners welcome or resist peer feedback? The studies were done in Thailand and Hawaii with…

Written language skills are an important goal within programs of language development for students with mental disabilities. Specific facets should be considered in the teaching of writing, such as drawing on previous linguistic experiences, viewing writing as both process and product, emphasizing writing as a form of communication, tying writing…

To document the writing practices, opinions, and perceptions of a particular segment of professionals in the work force, a study surveyed Department of Defense middle managers working for the United States Air Force. Self-report questionnaires were completed by 234 middle managers who had completed a one-week formal in-house writing program, and…

Developed in response to numerous requests from curriculum specialists and classroom teachers, this booklet addresses student assessment in written composition. Its purpose is: (1) to assist teachers in constructing writing prompts which correspond to the TEAMS (Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills) writing objectives and measurement…

Fifty fifth and sixth grade students participated in a study attempting to document motivational differences that may be associated with two approaches to classroom writing instruction. Thirty of the students were involved in the process-oriented approach where students are encouraged to write multiple drafts of assignments, attending to issues of…