This digest offers an overview of current research in the ERIC database on methods and measurements for evaluating student writing. The digest considers: (1) methods of response to students' written products; and (2) the measurement of quality as represented by effective classroom teaching methods. (SR)

The use of computers in the writing classroom changes the actual activities used in class, adapting some present activities and creating new paradigm activities, and also changes the arrangement of the classroom, forcing a radical rethinking of spatial design. The computer classroom is not a passive room, one where information goes out from the…

This is the first issue of a new journal, to be published annually, by the California Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL). Articles in this issue include: "English as a Bridge between Cultures: Scotland, Carolina, and California" (Patricia C. Nichols); "Cambodian Refugees: Factors Affecting…

The instruction of writing research papers to English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) college students is discussed. The challenges facing all students learning to write research papers are noted, including choosing a topic, deciding on a thesis, research and documentation, and the actual writing of the paper. The challenges faced specifically by ESL…

A review of South Korean elementary school textbooks and teacher's guides suggests three characteristic aspects of language and literacy education, including: (1) that two new language styles are appearing in textbooks, distinguishing the educated from the uneducated in everyday life, and that children learn formal speech style in the first grade…

Recognizing the rapid establishment of the computer as a routine instrument of instruction, this guide demonstrates with lesson outlines and materials the many ways in which English and/or computer literacy teachers can use microcomputers to teach RCT (Regents Competency Test) English Writing Practice topics. Front matter consists of a foreword,…

A study investigated the composing process to examine why different types of instruction have different effects on composing products. The study contrasted three treatments: (1) presenting students with models (the traditional method); (2) the general procedures approach stressing freethinking process; and (3) a method stressing task-specific…

Designed to reveal the art and craft of composition and the principles that underlie good writing, this textbook focuses on how to improve students' writing and how to give students a sense of the contribution writing makes to any kind of learning. The 20 chapters of the textbook are divided into 5 parts: (1) "The Writing Experience";…

Though popular in the late 70s and early 80s, the instructional technique of sentence combining attracts little support today, even though practice has proven that teaching the processes of combining and expanding sentences can enhance syntactic maturity. A student writer who is made aware of the expectations of form will be prompted to generate…

This report describes a federally funded project to study integration of computers into the writing instruction of classroom teachers, and evaluates the impact of a computer-supported writing program on instruction, on the writing process, and on products of normally achieving and learning-disabled (LD) students. The study compared the impact of a…

In response to critics' charges that use of the word processor may have a detrimental effect on writing, this study identified and analyzed 20 published studies that used experimental and control groups to compare conventional writing instruction (using handwriting) with instruction using the word processor. Five types of outcomes were analyzed:…

To understand how university students view writing centers, writing consultants, and themselves as writers, a study was conducted at the Syracuse University Writing Consultation Center (New York). The Center provides a free consultation service based on the peer conferencing model of collaborative learning. Sixty students who participated in the…

An analysis of journal articles from physics and molecular biology carried out with the help of six specialists in those disciplines reveals that scientists read journal articles by searching for the most newsworthy information, a behavior similar to that of newspaper readers. For this reason the scientific journal article is gradually taking on…

The work of researchers, theorists, and practitioners suggests that to facilitate academic success for college-level students of English as a Second Language (ESL), attention must focus on, but not be limited to, the following areas: (1) students need to become "acquirers," not just "learners," of the second language; (2)…

The large number of missing student test scores, the results of uneven student attendance, precluded any meaningful assessment of the impact of the 1988/89 Pregnant School-Aged Girls Program in the New York City public schools. Pregnant students have the option of attending classes at one of five special schools. There, they attend remedial…