Discusses current assumptions about what constitutes excellence in software for reading and writing instruction by describing commonly accepted guidelines and arguing that evaluation criteria focuses mainly on technical rather than on learning and educational issues. A priori questions emphasizing learning issues are proposed to strengthen…

Notes studies defining important communication skills for a wide range of job categories, but which many courses in business, technical, and science writing are not providing. Suggests changes for the basic business communication course, including modes of writing and rhetorical principles. (HTH)

Describes some of the strategies of repetition and metaphor used by Black American novelist Richard Wright, as a model that students can adopt in their own writing, both for generating ideas and for revising them. Appendixes include various drafts of an interview statement by Wright. (HTH)

Discusses solutions to problems in teaching research paper writing skills to English as a second language students in developing countries where library resources are inadequate. Suggests the use of interviews as an alternative research source and shows how an oral report on research results can help to develop synthesizing skills. (SED)

Reports on research showing that the use of a process-oriented writing program did not improve students' reading ability. (DF)

Describes recent research studies in the areas of writing (contexts, status surveys, instruction, processes, text analysis, assessment rhetoric), language (processing, development, interrelationships, language and schooling), literature, and teacher education. (HOD)

Explains why structured composition assignments produce better writing than nondirectional writing experiences, explores the reasons for this, and establishes hypotheses based on these reasons for developing a theory of composition instruction. (HOD)

Describes a situation-centered approach to second language acquisition and provides examples of class activities, assignments, and exams. (EKN)

Explains how photographs were used to generate language and to teach the form of expository prose to inner city sixth-grade students. (FL)

Considers the motives for schools acquiring computers, three different ways in which computers may be relevant to instruction, and the extent to which they address broadly shared ideals for children's education. Also discusses the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction in drills and tutorials and the development of writing skills. (RDN)

Annotates books related to writing and reading, dictionaries and reference books, poetry, drama, children's and adolescents' literature, mass media, and computer software. (HOD)

Describes using Hitchcock's work in the writing class to promote attention to detail, careful preparation for writing and revision, and stylistic concreteness. (CRH)

Describes the attitudes with which children received the word processor in their daily classroom activities. (CRH)

Concludes that structure of topic makes a difference in writing quality, fluency, and total error but not in any error ratio. Suggests that, for placement testing, educators should first decide which types of students they wish to identify, because each topic structure distinguishes low, average, and high ability students differently. Topic…

Describes dialogue journals, which provide natural, functional experiences with both reading and writing. Suggests guidelines for both their classroom implementation and for teachers' responses to children's journal entries. (FL)