Surveys students concerning recruitment and referral issues at the writing center. Finds that the higher the class level, the less likely the student was to have attended the center. Finds that students view instructor referral to the writing center as a bargain. Suggests ways to improve tutor training, advertising, and referral methods. (RS)

Suggests 17 strategies for avoiding teacher burnout in evaluating business communication assignments (since grading appears to be one of the most overwhelming and frustrating aspects of teaching business communications). (SR)

Describes an introductory creative writing lesson in which students gave low grades to passages they later learned were written by William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. Reports that the students graded mainly on mechanics and grammar (and very little on content). Notes that students began to learn to manipulate the various aspects of writing. (RS)

Letters over a period of 25 years from a Canadian who came to the United States after college graduation to teach in various parts of the country, then returned to teach in Canada, reflect substantial differences between the 2 educational systems in regard to the teaching and testing of writing. (MSE)

Reports an interview with Peter Kelman of Scholastic Software. Describes several developments in writing software for elementary and secondary level students. (MM)

Summarizes research findings on keyboarding instruction. Makes suggestions for teachers and administrative decision-makers regarding age for starting instruction, performance criteria, student attitudes, and other issues related to keyboarding instruction. (MM)

This paper examines the complexities of written language in terms of both its mechanical and creative skills. It discusses four approaches to providing assistance to writers with learning disabilities, including rule and skill instruction, substantive facilitation, procedural facilitation, and self-instructional strategy training; and recommends a…

The study compared stories written on either a word processor or handwritten by 15 children (ages 8-12) with learning disabilities. Use of the word processor resulted in fewer spelling errors for children with severe spelling problems and longer stories for children having problems with the mechanics of the writing task. (Author/DB)

Urges English teachers in community colleges to be familiar with and participate in core program curricula, and to design assignments tailored to students' professional needs, thus improving students' motivation and learning. (SR)

Presents 11 strategies writing teachers can use to alleviate writing apprehension and to encourage student writers to feel confident about revealing their thoughts in writing. (SR)

Describes a successful internship program at the University of Washington in which graduate students of English have the opportunity to observe a community college teacher in the classroom. Explains the internship model and its benefits. (KEH)

Summarizes information on general and specific uses of computers in teaching business and professional writing. Presents research that examines both general computer usage in business communication courses and specific computer usage, such as electronic communication and text analysis. Provides background information on the importance of college…

Examines how style analysis programs can assist the writing process. Outlines a method for introducing this tool to business communication students with a minimum amount of guidance. Recommends that business communication faculty are best qualified to introduce their students to the uses of computers to enhance the communication process. (MM)

Describes how combining small group collaborative learning and large-screen overhead projection from a computer workstation can enhance the effectiveness of writing instruction in business communication courses. Recommends an approach for further research into the effects of this technology in group learning situations. (MM)

Examines the contexts of human-computer interaction, and argues that understanding word-processing research done in that setting can enrich thinking about the impact of teaching writing with the use of computers. Suggests issues developed in recent word-processing studies that may interest future researchers. (KEH)