Examines the recent decline in verbal scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and suggests that demographic shifts, as well as a movement toward a more iconic, oral society resulting from videotapes, are responsible. The use of hypermedia and multimedia is discussed, and the definition of literacy is considered. (LRW)

Sketches the historical movement from orality to literacy, as described by Walter J. Ong, and discusses some general suggestions for teaching writing in a developmental sequence. (Author/GT)