Observing the composing processes of students working over real time in naturalistic settings, two exploratory studies asked: (1) What skills and assumptions do freshman and advanced writers invoke when they are searching for information to be used in writing? (2) What strategies and goals do students bring to a typical writing-from-sources task…

Because the structure of a writing program establishes its content and values, a writing program should be integrated with other aspects of English studies to avoid being merely an add-on to the college English department. Several planning strategies can assist in promoting this integration. A writing program should involve all related campus…

An exploratory study investigated the relationship between students' achievement in and perceptions of a freshman composition course based on the collaborative skill rehearsal model. This model involves preparation for writing through rehearsal, in small group activities, of skills students will need to successfully complete their individual work.…

A Norwegian study of the effectiveness of teaching young children to read and write using their vernacular as the medium of instruction is reported. In 1980-81 and 1981-82, ten classes of beginning primary students were given all initial instruction in reading and writing in the vernacular. Because no language standardization occurs in the…

Holistic approaches to the teaching of reading and writing, most notably the Whole Language movement, reject the philosophy that language skills can be taught. Instead, holistic teachers emphasize process, and they structure the students' classroom activities to be rich in language experience. Computers can be used as tools for whole language…

While assessing students' needs for a new approach to the issue of plagiarism, it is interesting to note that historically attitudes towards plagiarism have not always been negative. The problem of plagiarism may really be the problem of finding a proper mix between the ideas of the speaker and the ideas of those that have preceded the speaker.…

Developed to provide teachers with a framework for writing instruction, this handbook presents the objectives for writing in the elementary schools from kindergarten through grade 8. After a brief overview of the handbook, information covered includes: (1) a description of writing types (creative expression, narration, exposition, persuasion, and…

Research suggests that students make judgments about writing at a very early age, but their interpretations of what makes writing good or bad differs in important ways from those of teachers or professional writers. An understanding of how children's evaluative criteria develop is critical to teachers in helping children become better writers.…

This handbook presents materials designed to assist teachers in meeting the needs of primary school children in multi-graded classrooms. The handbook is divided into two parts. The first part consists of the following sections: (1) the multi-graded school; (2) strategies for multi-graded classrooms; (3) oracy--listening and speaking; (4) language…

To create successful job resumes, students must consider carefully the rhetorical elements of audience, persona, meaning, and text. Students can begin tailoring the resume to their own needs by completing a worksheet listing work experience, educational history and other relevant details. Using the worksheet helps students focus on the audience,…

Sentence combining can act as a corrective for the large number of language arts lessons and activities that emphasize errors. Based on familiar sentence patterns, sentence combining provides models of effective language use and encourages students to examine and try more expressive and interesting styles of speaking and writing. Sentence…

Following an introduction by James Britton, this book discusses the attitudes and values giving rise to effective writing instruction. The seven chapters examine the following topics: (1) achieving a philosophical perspective on composing through awareness of how writers actually work; (2) assumptions underlying classical rhetoric; (3) writing as…

Speech act theory jargon has several advantages over the traditional composition jargon. First, it is new and therefore potentially exciting. Its newness means that all students have an equal chance at it and need not feel that because they failed to understand a term presented in high school, that notion is forever lost to them. Second, jargon is…

Similarities between the weaknesses found among English as a first language students and English as a second language (ESL) students suggest the need to use basic writing materials with English as a second language students. Prewriting materials should be chosen in an effort to teach students some criteria for analyzing, evaluating, and…

Intended for elementary school teachers in all subject areas wanting to learn more about what is known concerning the teaching of writing, this book summarizes numerous presentations made over the past four years by the many teacher/consultants working with the Bay Area Writing Project. Following introductory materials, the first section of the…