This report focuses on how students across the nation, of three different ages--9, 13, and 17--revise their own writing. The report is based on detailed analyses of two writing assignments: the first required 9-year-olds and 13-year-olds to write and revise a school report about the moon, and the second required 17-year-olds to write and revise a…

This criticism of writing competency tests questions both the efficacy of a test developed by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the reliance of individual states on the products of private testmakers. The paper suggests that a hidden curriculum is being developed by independent and semi-independent organizations that…

The beginning creative writer usually needs to learn the distinction between creative writing and purely informational or reportorial exposition. This can often be accomplished through writing assignments incorporating the concepts of New Journalism--the method of rendering realistically, from the point of view of an outsider who has temporarily…

Using a single theme for a course in basic writing can be an effective and enjoyable way of teaching and learning. One college that developed such a program saw as the criteria for the course: learning grammar, writing at least eight in-class paragraphs of 300 words each in the quarter, attending the college's writing center and working with a…

To develop empirical data relating to the composing process of college basic writers, a study was conducted involving four community college freshmen. Three of the students were basic writers; the fourth was judged by the faculty to have superior writing ability. The study utilized four types of data: interviews with each subject subsequent to…

An approach to teaching composition that involves small groups not only helps students to improve their writing skills but also teaches them to enjoy the process of learning. The approach calls for meetings with the entire class at the beginning of the semester so that students can become familiar with materials to be used in evaluating their…

COMPOSITION TEACHERS TOO OFTEN TEACH AS IF MOST OF THE STUDENTS WILL BECOME ENGLISH MAJORS. MANY TEACHERS ALSO GIVE POOR, UNDIRECTED WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSUME, AFTER CORRECTING THE PAPERS, THAT THEIR JOB IS ACCOMPLISHED. BECAUSE STUDENTS DO NOT LEARN TO WRITE BY THIS METHOD, THE COMPOSITION COURSE SHOULD BE CUT DOWN TO A FEW BASIC ESSENTIALS.…

THE BOOKLET CONSISTS OF 14 IMPROMPTU THEMES WRITTEN IN 50 MINUTES BY FRESHMEN AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, MADISON. TEACHERS' COMMENTS ARE INCLUDED FOR EACH THEME, AND A BRIEF HEADNOTE TO EACH GROUP OF THEMES EXPLAINS WHY THEY WERE RANKED "UNSATISFACTORY QUALITY,""MIDDLE QUALITY," OR "SUPERIOR QUALITY." THE…

According to the author, the chief duty of a teacher is "to do himself out of a job as quickly and efficiently as possible." If he were to take this aphorism seriously and consider instruction in terms of behavior changes in students, a teacher would be forced to re-examine his basic approaches to teaching. He might come to realize that…

The author describes a program in guided writing instruction designed to help beginning students of English prepare for enrollment in American universities. The lessons were planned to develop the students' mechanics (the ability to spell, punctuate, and follow grammatical conventions), and some degree of competency (what to say, how to organize…

A "new breed" of college English teachers and the texts they advocate as well as their multi-media methods of instruction are discussed. According to the author, the "new breed" object to order of any kind and their teaching methods lack moderation and purpose. In conclusion, he emphasizes that the purpose of freshman English is to teach students…

Phonological rules based on "stress-terminal pattern" (the principle that a phonological phrase has one primary stress and one terminal juncture requiring a mark of punctuation) can be used to improve punctuation in composition. These rules require that the writer be able to speak sentences at a normal pace with intonation appropriate to the…

A definition of teaching is offered. Several hypotheses concerning the nature of the writing process and the factors effecting this process are discussed. The need for research on unexamined aspects of written composition is indicated. (BN)

It is regularly claimed that the quality of writing done by college freshmen is declining. This study attempted, through the use of questionnaires and interviews, to determine what specific freshman writing problems English teaching assistants and English professors at the University of Texas viewed as most serious. Questionnaire results showed…

This paper presents a tentative model of the writing process that has been developed according to the technique of protocol analysis. (A protocol is a description of the activities, ordered in time, in which a subject engages while performing a task.) The model identifies subprocesses of the composing process and their organization; minor…