Holistic evaluation, defined as the grading of an entire piece of writing without tallying or correcting specific errors, is discussed as preferable to discrete point testing or objective measures in assessing writing proficiency of English as a second language (ESL) students. The assessment process, in which the papers are evaluated as excellent,…

Research on the composition process and writing instruction has reiterated that red-pencilling students' literary efforts achieves mostly negative effects. Researchers contend that if teachers ignore the mechanics used (or misused) by beginning writers, if they encourage and stimulate the production of both oral and written language, reward the…

Noting that composition teachers would like computers in order to facilitate the mechanics of writing, analyze text, and correct problems, this paper argues that classroom computer applications are limited because computers cannot analyze text the way a reader would. The paper first posits that readers look at text in terms of semantics and…

COMMENTS is a computer program written in Basic language for an IBM PC and a file which stores observations and questions and prints teacher comments on a personalized comment sheet produced for each student paper, mostly by using three-letter codes. To use the program, the teacher first reads the student paper, noting spelling errors and needed…

A teacher experimented with her fourth grade students in order to determine how much revision took place in their writing. Originally, the teacher had been dissatisfied with the way she taught writing. Children wrote stories; she graded them. Then she began seriously examining the revision process as she observed it in her classroom. Students were…

The assumptions underpinning grammatical mistakes can often be detected by looking for patterns of errors in a student's work. Assumptions that negatively influence rhetorical effectiveness can similarly be detected through error analysis. On a smaller scale, error analysis can also reveal assumptions affecting rhetorical choice. Snags in the…

This resource package has been prepared as a means for distributing not only the results of the 1978 British Columbia Assessment of Written Expression but also to provide educators with clear, well-organized, classroom-ready materials which will assist them in teaching and evaluating the skills of written expression. It contains all of the test…

To compare the relative reliable uses and cost effectiveness of the analytic, the holistic, and the primary trait scoring methods, an inquiry was conducted in which a group of raters scored a large number of secondary school students' essays according to each of the scoring methods. Raters were nine graduate students in English who were trained in…

The latest perceptions of writer-audience relationships have not been applied to what teachers actually do in the classroom. When the idea of audience is applied at all, it is often misapplied, resulting in classroom activities that fail to facilitate learning and many, in some cases, that force students to perform tasks so unreal that credibility…

Recent research studies and texts in composition demonstrate the growing belief that students' difficulties with the writing tasks assigned to them are inextricably linked with their difficulties in handling complex cognitive processes. Through appropriate writing activities, students can be provided with practice in the intellectual functions…

The individual writing conference is one of the key settings in which adults are taught to write. Success in the conference can be connected both to its structure (who can talk when and how much, and what types of talk are sequenced in what ways) and to the content within that structure (what topics are discussed, the amount of collaboration…

One of four reports describing the basic skills programs in writing, reading, English as a second language, and mathematics at the City University of New York (CUNY), this volume describes the writing aspect of the program--including content, structure, methodology, and support services--at nine senior colleges and eight community colleges in the…

To mimic as closely as possible successful classroom procedures, NCTE convention speakers should be assigned topics one hour before their sessions, with only the rhetorical form specified. The audience should shout evaluative comments during presentation and the recorder should interrupt at each spelling and punctuation error. A final grade should…

Native and nonnative (Indians) English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' evaluations of certain errors in the written English of ESL college students were compared. Results indicated that native and nonnative perceptions of error gravity were not alike, although both groups saw verb-related error categories like tense, agreement, and question…

A significant amount of introspective evaluation of the dissertation process and product has taken place over the last five years. Technological advances, quality concerns, and increased student involvement in the preparation have been recognized and incorporated into new dissertation requirements. (Author/MLW)