A study was designed (1) to test whether adult writing is superior to adult speech in terms of organization and content and (2) to assess college students' ability to discriminate between passages differing in quality. Written and spoken passages that compared and contrasted two entities were elicited from college students and adult professionals.…

Noting that few curriculum projects designed to teach effective writing skills have been evaluated through carefully planned, longitudinal research studies representing cooperative efforts between university and public school personnel, this report describes such a project. The report outlines (1) the purpose of the program, which was based on the…

This transcript of a hearing held by the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the United States House of Representatives focuses on the findings of two surveys conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): the third national reading assessment and the third writing assessment. The transcript…

This manual is intended to assist elementary school teachers in developing classroom writing experiences. The sections in the first part of the manual address the individual stages of the writing process (prewriting, writing, and postwriting/editing) by reviewing research, presenting case studies of children's writing, and outlining activities,…

In an examination of the implications and effects of the competency testing movement on the discipline of English, the six chapters of this book answer major questions concerning what competency in English is, what is known about the assessment of competence in English, and how minimal competency in English can be defined and assessed. The first…

A cooperative writing assessment program between a college and seven public school districts was designed to demonstrate that the writing skills necessary for adequate composing were not those that could be measured by an objective test. The goals of the program were to (1) analyze the rhetorical skills of sixth and eighth grade students, (2)…

Explains how peer writing tutors not only help their fellow students, but can also learn a great deal themselves about grammar and mechanics, information processing, marking papers, audience awareness, and problem-solving strategies. (ARH)

Discusses ways to promote students' interest in current literature and in their own creative writing. Provides three examples of good high school literary magazines. (SRT)

Considers the difficulties facing teachers concerning grades for students' writing. (FL)

Discusses the deficiencies of the various methods of evaluating children's writing, especially the writing of children for whom English is not the native language. (FL)

Case studies of three students with spina bifida (ages 8-11) illustrate an individualized six-week handwriting intervention program which stressed assessment, monitoring, and measurement of changes in writing performance. Appropriate changes in physical support (sitting position, writing surface, and choice of writing tool) are recommended. (JW)

Four experimental reading-treatment classes (n=94) and four control classes (n=100) wrote pre- and post-compositions which were evaluated for overall quality, syntactic density, T-unit length, productivity, and selected grammatical errors. Analysis of results found significant differences in reading skills but no differences in writing skills. The…

Argues that comparing standard English usage to systems of standardization students are familiar with from their technical training forces technical writing students to understand the need for consistent signaling in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other language conventions. Includes an example from early American literature written in…

Describes the Prueba de Lectura y Lenguaje Escrito (PPLE--roughly translatable as the "Test of Early Language Development") that may meet the need for standardized and diagnostic tests of reading and written composition in Spanish. (HOD)

Describes new sources in word processing, proofreading, and text editing that can be used in hands-on computer sessions, analyzing writing samples for and with students. (MM)