Prepared as part of the evaluation of the Bay Area Writing Project (BAWP), this report offers descriptions of promising practices in composition instruction. It explains the selection criteria and classification scheme used and describes practices in the following four categories: (1) structuring of writing programs, (2) teaching the elements of…

A set of writing assignments and class activities designed to help students analyze their own writing processes, define their own strengths and weaknesses as writers, set their own goals, devise plans for achieving those goals, and evaluate their own progress is presented in this paper. The assignments are explained in detail, and suggestions for…

Reviews automaticity, effortless writing that enjoys freedom from excessive conscious interference, in terms of its origins in automatic writing and growth into contemporary techniques. Characterizes automaticity as a (1) form of dissociation from consciousness; (2) succor to spontaneity and creativity; and (3) key to understanding why some…

Claims that, in certain situations, writer-based prose can be better than reader-based prose, then offers practical guidelines about audience. (FL)

Assesses surveys of college writing teachers using computers in their composition courses. Results show little consensus in equipment or methods, but indicate that all teachers are positive about the computer's potential as a teaching and writing tool. The questionnaire is appended. (AEW)

Presents some points of divergence between current English and French rhetorical theory. Documents a few standard forms of composition in French that are not found in the English. Assesses pedagogies typical of the French tradition and concludes that the theory and pedagogy of the two languages are quite disparate. (AEW)

Examines similarities between composition and programming processes, and reviews two studies that linked instruction in computer programming and freshman composition to help students understand writing as a design discipline. Projects at the University of Montana and Bryn Mawr College which improved students' writing abilities are described. (LRW)

Presents several suggestions designed to assist teachers and students in the development of essay test-taking skills. Examines organizing the essay; brainstorming for ideas; composing the introductions and theses; establishing the historical setting; and writing the body and conclusion. Advocates proofreading, in-class practice, and allowing…

Asserts that students who are aware of the generic background in their own writing will more easily develop a sense of genre when studying texts written by others. Presents three rhetorical goals--writing to instruct, writing to delight, and writing to motivate--and discusses how an awareness of these goals influences reading and writing. (MM)

Investigates the use or nonuse of reading as a metacognitive monitor in first graders' composing, the patterns of contexts related to conscious monitoring by reading, and the writer's awareness of the various monitoring roles that reading plays in writing. Concludes that reading to monitor during composing emerges in different contexts for…

Discussion of the use of computers as research tools to analyze the writing process focuses on a microcomputer-based software program, Recording WordStar. Studies using the software are described, including comparisons of traditional writing methods with word processing methods and utilization of the software's ability to play back a composition…

Assesses the microcomputer's effects on the process and quality of business writing, focusing on writing anxiety, computer anxiety, time spent in writing, writing quality, and the relationship of gender to these variables. Concludes that the most significant predictor of quality is initial writing ability. (MM)

Evaluates a summer writing workshop and thanks the director and the state governor for initiating it. (NKA)

Describes newspapers as a good alternative to the traditional writing textbook and discusses how they can be used at all age levels to develop three stages of the writing process: prewriting, revision, and publishing. (JD)

Identifies context variables in written composition from theoretical perspectives in cognitive psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Considers how multiple views of context from across the disciplines can build toward a broader definition of writing. (JD)