Twenty-six teachers at a suburban school near Terre Haute, Indiana, responded to a survey to determine the activities used to teach writing in their classrooms. The results suggest the following: (1) writing in elementary classes concentrates heavily on "creative" writing and responses to literature, and should be broadened to include expository…

The corporate structures that inform and sustain high schools and colleges are different from each other. The high school structure is required by law to provide students with surrogate parents who ensure that legal requirements are enforced. Colleges, however, assume students are adults and provide a much more open and volatile academic…

Computer networking has made many new activities available to language learners. While these innovations are practical, they are also grounded in theory and justifiable on sound principles of language learning. Computers make possible classroom activities maximizing the benefit drawn from complex and otherwise unmanageable communicative…

Information on current trends and issues in English instruction, compiled by the directors of six National Council of Teachers of English commissions, is presented in this report, the sixth annual trends and issues report by the commissions. The commissions and their directors are as follows: (1) Commission on Language (Jesse Perry); (2)…

This teacher's guide was designed to be used with instructional materials, contained in 16 packets and organized around writing prompts, developed and adapted for a research study on informational writing with fourth, sixth, and eight grade students. The guide points out the most instructive method for using the prompts, discusses various methods…

In its second year of operation (1988-1989 academic year), the Electronic Writing Center (EWC) of the Union County College in Cranford, New Jersey has expanded its capabilities and the amount of service it provides to at-risk students through the Computers in the Curricula Project. Major changes include: (1) increased numbers of classes and…

A case study about collaborative learning and collaborative writing examined what was taking place in classroom writing response groups. The study revealed how problematic college writing groups can be good for students. On the basis of observation and interviews with participants in three groups composed of undergraduates at a large state…

Collaborative learning strategies can be especially effective in empowering first-year, culturally diverse students to integrate successfully into academic culture. Programs such as San Diego University's Intensive Learning Experience (ILE) link English and study skills instruction to specific general education courses, such as Cultural Geography…

A discussion of the state of writing instruction in English as a foreign language (EFL) in China begins with a review of the history of instruction, and then looks at the current situation in Chinese schools. The focus in on political influences on the evolution of EFL composition instruction and on problems in the acceptance of contemporary…

Writing instruction programs have become particularly important at American colleges and universities in recent years, but it is noted that most college faculties and their administrators need advice about providing useful help to the writing programs. An examination of how to develop successful writing programs is presented. Three sections are as…

To study the effects of writers' attending to the informational needs of their readers (episodic perspective taking), each of 65 college freshmen was randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (1) no attention to audience, (2) attention to audience during prewriting, and (3) attention to audience during revising. All three groups…

The fourth of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for tenth grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the guide…

The fifth of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for eleventh grade English outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of the…

The sixth of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for twelfth grade English, Level I outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The first half of…

The seventh of seven related guides, this curriculum guide for twelfth grade English, Levels II and III, outlines opportunities for students to use the skills they have acquired previously, to be involved in well-planned educational experiences in critical thinking and in oral and written expression, and to develop an understanding of others. The…