Intended to show teachers how their approaches to the teaching of writing reflect a particular area of research and to show researchers how the intuitions of teachers reflect research findings, the articles in this book are classified according to three approaches to writing: processing, distancing, and modeling. After an introductory essay that…

This report presents the results of a national survey of a selected group of college and university teachers of writing considered to be the best by the directors of their writing programs. The first chapter explains how the sample of teachers was selected, examines the distribution of the sample across types and sizes of institutions, summarizes…

In response to the Utah State Board of Education's new high school graduation requirements, five task forces of adult basic education teachers were charged with the identification of functional competencies for adult students in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and computation, and with the development of curricular materials…

This paper focuses on a language variation model that incorporates a number of concepts from linguistic and rhetorical studies. The model views language variation as a product of two correlating causes: one, the user and his or her personal, regional, and social dialect; and the other, the user's use of the language in terms of such discourse…

E. D. Hirsch's call for authoritative knowledge about composition is flawed, according to this document, because he focuses on the product and not the process of composing, thereby excluding more of the problem of composition than he includes. Hirsch's principle of readability--that styles that communicate meaning with less effort from the reader…

The children of Appalachia, a region characterized by a strong oral tradition, are constantly defining their roles in their society through language. In so doing they are contributing to the maintenance of the patterns of life in that society. Children observe the functional uses of story at a very early age, and narratives emphasize group…

Intended to enhance the quality of language arts instruction in the first grade, this curriculum guide defines objectives, lists some basic resources, and offers suggested teaching activities. The five strands covered include language and grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. An articulation chart at the beginning of the guide…

Intended to enhance the quality of language arts instruction in the second grade, this curriculum guide defines objectives, lists some basic resources, and offers suggested teaching activities. The five strands covered include language and grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. An articulation chart at the beginning of the guide…

Intended to enhance the quality of language arts instruction in the third grade, this curriculum guide defines objectives, lists some basic resources, and offers suggested teaching activities. The five strands covered include language and grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. An articulation chart at the beginning of the guide…

Intended to enhance the quality of language arts instruction in the fourth grade, this curriculum guide defines objectives, lists some basic resources, and offers suggested teaching activities. The five strands covered include language and grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. An articulation chart at the beginning of the guide…

Intended to enhance the quality of language arts instruction in the fifth grade, this curriculum guide defines objectives, lists some basic resources, and offers suggested teaching activities. The five strands covered include language and grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing. An articulation chart at the beginning of the guide…

Defining the "product" approach to composition as that which emphasizes the finished product over the steps that led up to completion, and the "process" approach as that which emphasizes the recursive steps that lead to the final product, this paper compares these two approaches to composition instruction. The first section…

Ideas for technical writing assistance and resources that are available to Purdue University faculty who incorporate a writing component into their courses are presented in this guide. Following an introduction containing the purpose, background, and scope of the guide, three main topics and their subtopics form the guide's structure: (1)…

In Western culture literacy encompasses a constellation of values and beliefs far beyond what might be attributed to the mechanical ability to read and write. Many people prize literacy as an end in itself, and attribute to it a whole spectrum of values and social privileges disproportionate to its actual functions in society. They forget that…

One of the constants of professional life for social workers is the need to write. For this reason, the social work instructor needs to emphasize the development of students' writing skills. Such skills cannot be left to composition courses alone, nor can it be assumed that students will emerge from degree programs with sufficient writing ability.…