Writing is a critical skill because it is used to access reinforcement in a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, there has been little research on writing skills instruction for students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects simultaneous prompting and computer-assisted…

This research investigated the relation between rater cognition and rater behavior, focusing on differential severity/leniency regarding criteria. Participants comprised a sample of 18 raters examined in a previous rater cognition study (Eckes, 2008b). These raters, who were known to differ widely in their perceptions of criterion importance,…

This article provides a framework for designing balanced literacy instruction for individuals with significant needs. A balanced literacy approach consists of instruction in word work, reading, and writing. It is critical to realize that balanced literacy ties closely to communication. The authors promote utilizing a before, during, and after…

Design is a rhetorical activity that requires creative thinking in response to difficult situations. That creative work ultimately builds new relationships and new contexts. Sustainable design can become an approach to composition that alters ways of thinking about writing situations, keeping ethical and contextual factors in focus, and…

This paper presents an analysis of the major generic structures of empirical research articles (RAs), with a particular focus on disciplinary variation and the relationship between the adjacent sections in the introductory and concluding parts. The findings were derived from a close "manual" analysis of 433 recent empirical RAs from high-impact…

Changes in political, social and educational curriculum policies over the past four decades have created discursive shifts in writing theory and practice for New Zealand primary teachers. While these policies have historically privileged a particular view of writing over others, very little is known as to how teachers engage with experienced…

This article discusses our university's attempt to analyze whether our system of First Year Writing placement serves the needs of our diverse student body. The theory behind Directed Self Placement (DSP) is appealing, so our program adopted a modified version of it, and after several years, decided to evaluate it quantitatively. The authors, a…

The study described here is based on the work of creative writing students engaged in life writing for a piece of assessment in a distance-learning course. Using the finished assignment pieces themselves, the students' reflective commentaries on their completed task, and a follow-up questionnaire, the analysis was designed to explore the…

Paraeducators are an integral part of instruction in public schools. This study used a multiple baseline across participants design to investigate the ability of a paraeducator to deliver Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction in narrative writing. The paraeducator taught the POW + WWW, What = 2, How = 2-story writing strategy to…

Building off the scholarship of paper-based portfolio systems, electronic portfolios have been a topic of scholarly conversation across the university, particularly in writing studies, education, and distance education. Much of current portfolio scholarship focuses on one of three areas. First, there is increased attention being paid to how…

This essay examines the problem of defining critical thinking and demonstrates how critical thinking is less a determinable process or set of procedures than a constellation of attitudes, habits of mind, role relations, and participation motives. It demonstrates further why college instruction in critical thinking in composition…

In this article, the author, a poet and teaching artist, shares how he successfully brought slam poetry to College Hill Middle School in Texarkana, Arkansas. In 2001 he discovered slam poetry--a poetry-reading format in which poets compete in dramatic readings of their works--and went to Slam Nationals in Seattle on the Arkansas slam team. He…

It hardly bears noting that when writing instructors teach professional writing they focus on helping students learn to analyze complex communication scenarios, conduct careful research to support their position, and to responsibly and succinctly apply the process of writing any number of supporting documents. Developing these skills are essential…

This brief work stands against a four-year stretch of writing classes at Northern Virginia Community College, with the author teaching English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students how to write academic essays. The courses taught have included high intermediate and advanced writers, many of whom plan to earn a degree at the college or any number of…

Young writers, especially students with disabilities, have difficulty writing complete essays, and when asked to revise often make only surface-level changes. Individualized feedback may lead to gains in writing achievement, but finding class time for feedback is difficult. Using a multiple probe across participants design, the effectiveness of…