Recognizing the need to assess the long term effects of composition instruction, a study was conducted to determine whether students could remember significant aspects of a writing course up to two years later, to discern their assessment of the effects of the course on their subsequent writing attitudes, and to solicit suggestions based on…

Theoretical frameworks are useful to developmental educators investigating the areas of grammar, critical reading, and the introductory physical science course. Of all available approaches to grammar, sector analysis proves the most powerful as a tool for developmental educators. It is designed to show how a few possible grammatical constructions,…

A research project designed to determine what is important to a freshman college student in writing and learning to write is described in this paper. The first section of the paper provides background information for the project, which involved collaboration between the researcher and a student. The second section describes data gathering…

In asserting that cohesion both exists in a superordinate relationship to unity and emphasis and must be considered a part of the surface structure of written language as well as the deep structure, this text provides a commentary on the paragraph as the basic unit of written language and an analysis of the structure underlying paragraph…

Current approaches in developing and applying computer assisted instruction in language arts are described in this paper, which presents diverse positions along a continuum of perspectives and draws contrasts between a reductionist or subskill approach and a whole language emphasis. The paper discusses three predominant computer applications in…

To change the perceptions that research writing is somehow different from other writing, teachers need to place more emphasis on the "search" in student research papers. An intermediate assignment can help bridge the gap between the totally personal search and the more formal and traditional research paper approach. The assignment asks students to…

While reading and writing are both language processes and a natural relationship between the two could be assumed, they have generally been studied and taught separately--one as a production process and the other as a reception process. There has recently been increased interest in the relationship in the education community. The source of this…

A Texas high school has initiated a writing across the curriculum program in which an English instructor first taught the writing process to 10 colleagues from social studies and science. The first session brought out concerns, questions, and frustrations and laid the foundation for trust and understanding in the working relationship. Actual…

Because technical writing is a subject that exists in two separate contexts (a combination of practical and liberal arts), teachers of the subject must legitimize their profession by appealing to different authorities. Those attempting to strengthen the connections with the industrial world do so by (1) showing that technical writing is needed,…

The teaching of broadcast copywriting can be enhanced by computer assisted instruction, especially in screening students' writing for adherence to classic "formulas" or "rules" for broadcast writing. Such rules might include avoiding cliches or not beginning a sentence with a subordinate clause. Other rules the computer can…

A writing-across-the-curriculum program has been initiated at the East Campus of Pima Community College in an effort to improve student literacy. The program operates in the following manner: (1) faculty in all disciplines on campus are asked to get involved in the program, those who participate being paid a one-time fee of $100 for their efforts;…

Writing across the curriculum involves helping students to learn how to learn by using appropriate parts of the writing process, to understand that certain standards are important if they are to be considered educated, and to ascertain that writing and learning involve similar procedures and methods. At Sinclair Community College, a writing across…

While teaching mechanical aspects of writing in English as a second language (ESL) to ten- and eleven-year-olds has been found to be relatively simple, the most difficult thing to teach, and the first to break down when guidance is removed, is logical information sequencing. Without guidance, most children will produce random sentences, but when…

A study was conducted to examine children's developing perceptions of contextual factors surrounding their writing at home and at school. Subjects were 20 children from grades one through five, who wrote in a wide range of contexts. Children's writing products for three months were labeled for ownership, setting, audience, purpose, and genre,…

Universities with limited resources are being pressured to cover more material within their degree programs. Because of this, schools are looking to integrate material from different classes. This paper sets out to determine if students can learn business writing within the context of another class, specifically, an information systems class. The…