To discuss how training programs for new teaching assistants affect them and, more specifically how a training seminar affected the way they grade papers, twelve teaching assistants read about evaluation, participated in six paper grading sessions, and were assigned an experienced teaching assistant who checked sets of marked essays for validity…

The Basics Skills English 100 course at Slippery Rock University, having changed from a traditional approach to an approach that reflects knowledge gained through research about the needs of basic writers, shows the progress basic writers can make in a summer program. Thirty students met six times a week for five weeks in one-and-a-half hour…

To determine students' different but equally valid ways of dealing with the composing process, a college instructor developed a questionnaire assessing personality styles. The questionnaire distinguishes between (1) approaches to the writing process, (2) preferences for types of instruction, (3) preferences for types of writing and organizational…

Designed for college freshman composition classes, this guide describes a writing assignment for teaching students to write a formal review of a favorite children's book. The book analysis worksheet serves as a springboard for questions and a vehicle for teaching persuasive discourse, the business of publishing, the organization of libraries, the…

A continuing problem confronting businesses is the number of college graduates unprepared to write on the job because their communication abilities are meager and their knowledge of the many kinds of writing they must do in the workplace is incomplete. Causes of the gap between college writing instruction and the writing demands in the workplace…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores the state of research into handwriting instruction and the printing versus cursive writing dilemma. After examining how handwriting is currently being taught, the digest discusses research supporting various kinds of printing instruction--block, italic,…

Noting the increase in the number of teachers developing computer software for composition instruction, this paper explores the issues that are shaping the direction of computer assistance in writing instruction. The first half of the paper deals with specific questions teachers must consider as they design software. These are divided into…

One new approach to argumentative writing in an advanced composition course uses the creative juxtaposition of rhetorical and psychological theories and behavioristic research. All of the assignments for the course simulate the kinds of writing actually performed in the professional fields of advertising, politics, business, law, and religion.…

Pointing out that teachers and supervisors need to study, analyze, and synthesize diverse issues in the teaching of handwriting, this paper explores several relevant issues. The following issues are discussed: (1) whether handwriting ought to be taught as a separate subject; (2) the conflict between the behaviorism approach--which utilizes precise…

Intended for teachers and administrators, this collection of essays focuses on the dual meaning of practice--practice of writing skills, and teaching practices in composition instruction. The process section focuses on the types of activities that build composition skills. The product and program sections shift focus to professional practice, the…

Designed to help teachers in writing programs collaborate to reach a consensus on grading standards for freshman essays, the "Buddy System" was instituted on a voluntary basis at a Pennsylvania college with an English department with a traditional literature orientation. To participate, the instructors were required: (1) to choose at…

When teaching writing in content areas, such as hydrobiology, instructors should remember that what works in a writing class does not necessarily work across the curriculum. Yet although differences exist, content area teachers still need writing departments to teach their students to write. One possible response is the generic course, such as…

To clarify the perceptions of college freshmen regarding the kind of teaching they experienced in public schools and how those experiences relate to the split-brain theory, a study surveyed 241 first-semester college freshmen from the fall of 1984 to the fall of 1987 at Southwest Missouri State University. Only students who had completed at least…

Studies on the Writing Across the Curriculum program indicate that writing is a valuable learning tool, and that writing about a specific content area presents unique problems which are best addressed by the content specialist. Two assumptions underlie this program: (1) writing can help students learn and think about content in any discipline,…

A current selection from the many citations of material in the ERIC database, this bibliography offers practical information for introducing and implementing writing across the curriculum programs in elementary and secondary schools. The bibliography is divided into sections on (1) writing across the curriculum (8 citations); (2) writing to learn…