This survey examined the extent and quality of magazine journalism education in the United States and Canada. Over half of the 200 schools surveyed responded to the questionnaire concerning current teaching practices and facilities. Results indicate that magazine journalism is more widely taught than generally supposed: most schools have at least…

The treatment group of college freshmen, which worked with the Strong-Christensen sentence-combining materials during an intensive six-week period, scored significantly higher on two factors of syntactic maturity than the control group. (DD)

Calculated year-1 to year-2 stability of assessment data from 21 states and 2 Canadian provinces. The median stability coefficient was 0.78 in mathematics and reading, and lower in writing. A stability coefficient of 0.80 is recommended as the standard for large-scale assessments of student performance. (SLD)

The effects of a cancer diagnosis can be devastating and far-reaching. Expressive-supportive group therapy has proven useful for treating patients struggling with many of these effects. In addition, individual therapeutic writing methods have shown benefit for many individuals addressing a variety of difficult life circumstances including cancer.…

Reviews the importance of writing instruction and of research into the composing process. Considers their place in the curricula of Canadian postsecondary schools. (RL)

Through interpretive case studies, I report how, in an advanced Japanese literacy course, two Canadian university students from different enthnolinguistic backgrounds engaged in composing in Japanese quite different ways. The multiple sources of data, including the viewpoints they expressed in interviews and questionnaires, were examined…

Recently arrived English as a second language (ESL) students were compared to their unilingual and multilingual Canadian-born peers on measures of French proficiency. All of the participants were enrolled in secondary core French (CF)--the ESL students were studying introductory French, whereas the Canadian-born students were in Grade 9 CF, their…

An evaluation model for essay assignments is provided. (DE)

Describes the Prism Awards program sponsored by The Kids Netword, designed to encourage original thought and creativity in Canadian children ages 7-14 who aspire to become professional writers. A training program that winners participate in to develop their writing talent is described, and a sidebar provides thoughts from a winner of the program.…

This article corrects the assumption that "indigenous women and feminist issues remain undertheorized," by demonstrating that they do theorize their lives, but that they theorize differently, meaning, indigenous women do not rely solely on Western tools, worldviews, or epistemologies as methods of interpretation. One tool indigenous…

In recent years many Canadian groups have recognized their communities' centennials by undertaking the task of compiling and recording local history. Responding to numerous questions on producing local history books, the Centre staged two workshops to provide amateur historians with the kinds of information they need for such projects. Sessions at…

Evaluated effects of daily practice writing spelling words in sentences on generalization of spelling words to written work. Findings from mildly mentally handicapped students (n=4) aged 8 to 13 showed that generalization of the target spelling words to written work was improved by sentence writing. Follow-up condition indicated maintenance of…

Four hundred fifty first grade children were asked to imagine they were animals and to write about their animal selections. Boys tended to idenitfy themselves with animals characterized as strong, dangerous, or wild. Girls tended to link themselves with animals that are weak, safe, or tame. (JD)

Provides information about how Canadian universities organize writing instruction. Presents the results of a nationwide survey of Canadian universities concerning writing instructors, writing researchers, and the scope and range of instruction. (HB)

A professor/researcher reflects on the first decade of the 40-year history of this journal and selects one article typical of many during that decade, characterized by large sample sizes and statistical comparisons of achievement among Alberta students. The article selected examines writing achievement among approximately 2,000 rural and urban…