Writing courses at Temple University (Pennsylvania) were adapted from the Writer's Workbench program to provide a computer-assisted instruction model for students to obtain a wide range analysis of their writing abilities and skills. (Author/CB)

Presents a set of teaching activities which deal with the pet overpopulation problem while improving students' persuasive writing skills. Includes activities that focus on how people can solve problems by working together. The activities range from songs to a computer simulation. (TW)

Develops several lessons that integrate reading and writing for the purpose of understanding and retaining knowledge. Illustrates the use of a feature matrix, as well as webs, outlines, and timelines as organizational devices to engage the students in active comprehension of text. (NKA)

A multifaceted approach to meeting the target language writing needs of adult English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students was built on the learners' expertise and experience. The technique expanded learners' knowledge of the written code of government writing and developed their ability to analyze and edit their own writing. (Author/CB)

Children growing up in literate societies, surrounded by the printed word, begin to read and write long before they start school. The extent and scope of early literacy development is examined. Theoretical explanations of this development are offered. Implications for schools are presented. (RM)

Describes goals and development of an instructional resource center, the development of a writing skills assessment test, the collection and dissemination of basic skills instruction and progress, and the establishment of a national testing network in writing. (EL)

Describes an anthropological and ethnographic study of writing and the shaping of consciousness in a junior high school, focusing on narrative and performative modes of literacy. Shows how Black and Puerto Rican students struggle with their writing in search of a voice that can express their lived experience in a partially hostile world. (RDN)

Uses complaints leveled against English teachers in l912 to support three points about the crisis in literacy: (1) the "writing crisis" is not new, (2) teaching basics will not solve crisis, and (3) solution to problem should be based on what is known about history and theory of composition instruction and about successful and unsuccessful methods…

Argues that microcomputer programs in LOGO can support children's development of invented spelling within a language experience approach. Presents protocols of three nursery school children using such programs that show promising growth in their writing and reading skills. (FL)

Worldwide, the absolute number of illiterate adults continues to grow. The following topics are discussed: those in need of literacy education; pre-literacy programs; the changing role of post-literacy efforts, i.e., efforts to help adults apply literacy skills; strategies for literacy campaigns; and illiteracy in industrialized countries. (RM)

Argues, in a discussion of the benefits of collaborative writing, that teaching writing as a solitary activity belies actual experience and research pointing to it as a collaborative effort. Shows how to use peer response groups to introduce students to collaborative writing. (EL)

This article pursues the impressions of practicing personnel management people concerning the achievement of recent graduates entering the job market in certain competency areas. The authors develop a skills profile of graduating students and compare it with skills desired by employers. (CT)

Presents responses to three "College English" articles, C.H. Knoblauch and Lil Brannon's "Writing as Learning through the Curriculum" (September 1983), Helen Schwartz's "Monsters and Mentors" (February 1982), and James C. Raymond's "Rhetoric: The Methodology of the Humanities" (December 1982). Includes the…

Explains how student writing clubs can be used effectively in a middle school English class. Suggests that the required club publications not only provide a strong incentive for students to develop their writing skills, but also encourage student control and decision making, demand student leadership, and elicit parent involvement. (MM)

Discusses expectations of technical writing from the perspectives of engineers engaged in varied academic and business activities. (MM)