The materials in this report deal with the process of children's writing and rewriting. The first section of the report describes the original methodology of a study of children's rewriting and explains how and why that methodology was changed as the study progressed. The second section provides a review of related literature, while the third,…

A description and supporting materials of the elementary school writing program of the Bay Shore Public Schools (New York) are presented. The description and materials include: (1) the program philosophy; (2) a review of writing research including a 12-point summary of methods for teaching writing and a 10-point summary of the proper classroom…

Designed for teachers and researchers interested in the study of the composing process, this guide introduces a method of analysis that can be applied to data from a range of different cases. Specifically, the guide offers a simple, direct coding scheme for describing the movements occurring during composing that involves four procedures: teaching…

This volume consists of nine conference papers and journal articles concerned with microcomputer applications in the teaching of writing. After a general introduction entitled "Computer-Assisted Composition Instruction: The State of the Art," by Robert Shostak, four papers are devoted to how computers may help with the writing process. In…

Technical writing teachers and their students generally have a good grasp of grammar, mechanics, organization, and specific approaches to report writing for different situations. What they may lack is a procedure for educating themselves on technical subject matter. The following procedures can help without a special on-the-job training program:…

Although theories on developmental writing assume that basic writers do not write well because of cognitive deficits, recent research and classroom experience suggest that poor writers lack skill because they have not had sufficient contextually meaningful practice. Writing research indicates that the unskilled writer's tendency to write as if…

Secondary school teachers can present the process of writing compositions simply and effectively by adopting three tools: the positive approach, the easy three-step analysis process, and the brainstorm outline. Using the positive approach, teachers first convince students that writing effectively is important to them--it gives them the power to…

With use of a carefully planned program of peer evaluation, the teacher can develop students' skills in analysis, evaluation, proofreading, and punctuation. Giving each student a copy of the "Indicator for Rating Performance, Grades 6-12," the teacher explains that the 11 essential parts of any written work are each described and given a specific…

A questionnaire entitled "An Inquiry into Classroom Practices in the Teaching of Writing" was sent to 222 authorities comprising two groups: those who have published a work in the form of a book or monograph under the auspices of the National Council of Teachers of English since 1963, and those who have held administrative positions in…

A glance at new textbooks or at ads in composition journals will show that besides "writing" and "reading," the word "process" appears more often than any other word. Composition has followed other theoretical notions in the air and turned from analyzing finished essays to examining the processes which produced them.…

This collaborative study examined episodes in primary through secondary classrooms in which writing and reading were working together, exploring the extent to which student learning and development were enhanced. Review of research and extrapolations from classrooms suggest that benefits for students are likely to be accrued in four areas: (1)…

This study of the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) environment focused on the potential of a computer-saturated environment to facilitate students' thinking processes. Four approaches were used: (1) a longtitudinal approach to study student growth and development; (2) observations of students' behavior while writing with the computer to study…

A study explored how writers with extensive experience and learning in an academic discipline used both topical and rhetorical knowledge to construct synthesis essays. Subjects, 20 psychology graduate students and 20 business graduate students, wrote synthesis essays on either the topics of "supply-side economics" or "rehearsal in…

A 1985 study of students at Ferris State University (Michigan) found that the majority of freshmen improve their writing abilities from their beginning English course to the end of their freshman year, with ability levels changing little after that. In the current study, graduating seniors were studied to evaluate growth in writing throughout the…

A study examined whether a program of writing instruction based on peer feedback would improve writing better than instruction based on teacher feedback. It was hypothesized (1) that experimental peer feedback classes would perform better than control classes on certain writing achievement variables and would display more positive attitudes toward…