One hundred college remedial writing students participated in a study designed to (1) demonstrate some of the differences between speaking and writing in a controlled situation; (2) test the hypothesis that the writing of subjects who have spoken about a particular topic will be qualitatively superior to the writing of those who have not; and (3)…

To determine if using visual patterns can help technically oriented people create coherent papers, 97 students enrolled in a beginning composition class were given five hours of instruction in the use of the "hub and spokes" (central idea supported by examples), "S-curve" (pro-con), and pyramid (inductive or deductive) formats. Holistic…

Concerned with improving text readability in the content areas, this report first draws upon Linda Flower's writing steps and strategies in its description of writing as moving from planning to generating ideas in words, designing for a reader, and editing for effectiveness. It also presents nine more precise steps in the writing process along…

This educator's guide to the California Assessment Program's English-Language Arts test describes what California's new reading and editing tests do and do not measure. The guide states that each test form consists of one reading passage from literature, science, or history-social science followed by a variety of questions on word meaning and…

This English Language Arts Achievement Test was designed to evaluate the writing skills of third grade students. It includes instructions in which students are asked to write their own stories after reading a "story starter." The test instructs students to use their imaginations to finish the story and encourages them to do a prewriting…

This preliminary report of the 1988 Manitoba Writing Assessment Program contains a summary of student performance in grade 11 for the provincial sample as a whole. The report is based on 177 test papers from students enrolled in English 200 or English 201 in French Immersion programs. The first chapter describes the spelling exercise, the process…

Ideas and techniques are presented to make the instructional task of teaching writing in a large geography class easier and more effective. One technique is to allow students to engage in pre-topic and post-topic writing. Before a new topic is discussed, the teacher asks the students to write for ten minutes on anything they know about the topic.…

This study investigated student preferences for either teacher-written or computer-generated marking of written compositions. Ninety-seven high school students typed assigned compositions on a word processor. Three skills pre-selected by the teacher were checked on each composition. Students were randomly assigned to treatments so that, on the…

A study investigated the functional relationship that exists when mental ability and language competence are separately and simultaneously measured with regard to their influence on the effective treatment of verbal information. Data were gathered from 100 men and women, aged 20-60, who were tested for language competence, reading comprehension,…

The duty of conscientious writing teachers is to evaluate the kinds of feedback they are providing students, and to determine if it helps students to present ideas meaningful to them effectively in written discourse. Almost universally, the traditional way of providing feedback on student writing is by the red pencil method, which has made the…

This manual, accompanying the New York State Regents Examinations and Competency Tests, is intended for use by school administrators, guidance counselors, teachers, and proctors. Regents examinations measure the quality of instruction and learning that has taken place in high schools, and provide information for educational and vocational decision…

Intended to help teachers understand the complexities of the writing process, this pamphlet offers a model for writing conceptualized in three phases: stimulus, process, and product. The process phase is then examined from the perspectives of: consciousness, speed and elaboration, and mental/physical interaction. The following implications for…

Extensive research efforts in the past decade have measured academic proficiency and progress in both theory and practice of large-scale writing assessment. The following major situational variables were identified in these investigations: (1) topic variables such as writing prompts, subject matter, mode of discourse, length, and rhetorical…

Prewriting, writing, and revision represent vital elements in both the total writing experience and the evaluation of writing programs. An effective writing program should include (1) a written plan to guide composition instructors and ensure that students receive balanced instruction; (2) clearly stated purposes reflecting concern for composition…

Focusing on the nature of revision in lyric poetry, a study investigated poets' writing processes. Primary data sources included poets' commentary, letters, recorded conversations, interviews, and essays. Two case studies were also conducted--an evaluation of two poets at work (one a novice and one an experienced poet) and a textual analysis of…