Describes the Prism Awards program sponsored by The Kids Netword, designed to encourage original thought and creativity in Canadian children ages 7-14 who aspire to become professional writers. A training program that winners participate in to develop their writing talent is described, and a sidebar provides thoughts from a winner of the program.…

Proposes that the value of formal writing conventions has diminished. Notes that, although formal conventions are important, the findings are hard to generalize. Uses content analysis to prove formal conventions are valuable and are often justified on rhetorical grounds, suggesting the dichotomy between formalist and rhetorical axiologies is…

Explores how ninth- and eleventh-grade students reformulated their initial written analyses of two short stories through revisions fostered by between-draft written comments. Indicates significant effects for response condition and grade level. Analyzes data collected in two response modes: directive and dialogue. (HB)

National Assessment of Educational Progress writing sample essays from 1988 and 1990 (495 and 599 essays) were subjected to computerized grading and human ratings. Cross-validation suggests that computer scoring is superior to a two-judge panel, a finding encouraging for large programs of essay evaluation. (SLD)

Offers eight rules for minimizing the danger of writing teachers "showing off" their writing to students during in-class analysis. (RS)

Reviews the Test of Written Language--2 (TOWL--2). Finds the test's blending of contrived and spontaneous assessment of students' writing to be a plus. Discusses drawbacks of the test. (RS)

Asserts that a student-writing portfolio can be a powerful tool for writing instruction. Describes how students compile a portfolio, and the types of writing included. Discusses the use of collaboration in the writing process and methods of assessment. (PRA)

This study describes validation data for qualitative and quantitative writing measures useful with a full range of students, including special education students, in grades three through five. The study looked for consistent administration and scoring, sensitivity in differentiating groups of students, relation to other accepted assessments, and…

Investigates the grammatical and formal writing preferences of college professors, for the purpose of informing high school instructors about the students' future audience. Surveys professors' attitudes regarding disapproval of forms and stylistic preferences, and compare results with those of two other usage surveys. (PRA)

Shares students' reactions to written responses from teachers. (MG)

Discusses the importance of evaluating writing in publication form as the final step of a project before moving on to the next assignment. (MG)

Offers five tips for teachers to give students when they are criticizing the work of their peers. Offers four pieces of advice for advisors when evaluating the writing of their students. (MG)

Asserts that students' ability to evaluate writing stems from the confidence they gain by collaborating with classmates. Describes a remedial college writing course for foreign students that was conducted as a workshop. Discusses how the successful use of collaboration and peer response activities helped the students to become more confident…

How lecture note taking influences writing processes was studied in 4 experiments involving 392 undergraduates. The writing model of L. S. Flower and J. R. Hayes (1981) served as theoretical foundation. Results support the effects of external storage and encoding plus internal storage on writing processes. (SLD)

A study of 39 university English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students and 13 ESL teachers was conducted to examine Newkirk's 1984 findings regarding differences between teacher and peer evaluations of writing samples. Evidence was found that the role and function of teacher evaluations differ from that of peer evaluations. (27 references) (LB)