Grades in a college composition course were withheld over a 10-week term to determine how students would redirect their anxiety. (HOD)

Reports the results of a study that revealed that the instructional activities that precede writing are more important to student improvement than longer comments on the writing itself. (JL)

Discusses the results of a comparative study of the ways that newly recruited and very experienced composition teachers respond to students' papers, to determine what kind of special training, if any, would be most useful to new writing instructors. Results indicated that the differences between new and experienced teachers lay in the kinds of…

Describes an English articulation program in which a college teacher evaluates the compositions of high school students and then works closely with students, English teachers, school administrators, and parents in follow-up activities. (RL)

Describes the program developed by the Study Skills Center at San Diego State University to help students improve their writing. (FL)

Describes the expressive writing of Japanese elementary school children, citing examples designed to encourage American language arts teachers to use their responses to students' writing to bolster children's attempts to become actively and personally engaged in their writing. (HTH)

Examines four approaches to evaluating writing, and notes the strengths and weaknesses of each. (RL)

An unofficial study is recounted in which professional journals from various disciplines were examined to see whether writing styles were appreciably different from one another. An appendix with excerpts from some of the journals, with varying degrees of coherence is included. (HTH)

Describes a way to give word-processed feedback on business communication assignments. Describes some advantages of this mode over both handwritten and audio comments, and identifies limitations of this method. (SR)

Contains two articles on writing instruction: the first shows how the prospect of student publishing inspires students to try new forms of writing; the second explains a marking system that encourages students to see the importance of the content in their writing. (TB)

This column examines issues associated with measuring assistive technology outcomes in writing. Following an introduction to assistive technology and writing, it looks specifically at design, measurement, analysis, and decision making factors in the process of creating an outcomes system for measuring the impact of assistive technology on writing.…

Discusses Authentic Intellectual Achievement (AIA) in Writing, which can be defined by construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school. Addresses translating AIA into criteria for language arts; connecting to students' lives; applying AIA; and thinking about AIA in classroom practice. (SG)

Considers what the best assessment practices are for ESL (English as a Second Language) and international students at two- and four-year institutions in the United States. Presents results of an Internet search of one set of prominent American institutions' placement practices. Argues that second language composition specialists need to examine…

Examines the writings of an engineer employed by a large manufacturing firm. Argues that the engineer's writing, although not the final product, is the essential means by which the product is created. Suggests that, because a report reflects final, agreed-upon knowledge about a product, the product and the document become one in the engineer's…

Makes observations about how professional poets compose. Argues for the use of primary trait scoring and an interactive teaching method to guide students through revision while treating each poem as a unique piece of writing. Demonstrates how primary trait scoring and individual conferences assisted a student in revising his poems. (RS)