Five papers on the assessment of writing ability presented at the Division D meeting are critiqued. It is suggested that it is not possible to conclude--as has Larson in his study of grades 4, 6, and 8--that National Assessment of Educational Progress results do not give evidence of growth in writing ability. Dovell and Buhr, examining approaches…

Recognizing the differences between reading and writing is as important as recognizing their similarities for improving current methods of teaching composition. Environment and motivation are two areas in which these differences are most noticeable. Since motivation is a preexisting quality that can only be fostered and not implanted, environment…

Despite a growing trend to split the two areas, literature belongs in the composition class. In responding to literature, students can trace their own developing thought. They acquire, through literary discourse, a tool of discovery. This tool closely resembles expressive discourse, the mode, as James Kinneavy suggests in "A Theory of…

Focusing on how expert writers in various disciplines convey complex ideas, this paper shows how the techniques used by the mathematician, Clark Kimberling, in various writings can (1) be transferred to other disciplines, (2) show learning taking place, and (3) provide models for students to re-enact learning in all subject areas. The paper…

Based on a project concerned with studying invention across the curriculum, this paper discusses an across-the-curriculum writing program that encourages students to take control of what they are studying, contributing to what is known rather than being passively filled by it. The paper (1) challenges the current notion that creative behavior is a…

Four elements are essential for efficient, effective, and rewarding teaching of beginning reading. The first is the use of children's key vocabulary. Children are asked, in a prescribed fashion, what their very best word is of the moment. The teacher prints it in a prescribed fashion and uses it to help children acquire one-to-one correspondence…

Although the needs of American Indian college students in writing classes are very similar to those of Anglo basic writers, Indian writers often bring cultural and linguistic differences into the writing classroom. Indians are oriented only in the present, which affects their use of verb constructions; they are oriented toward sharing, which…

Argues against direct formal grammar instruction in middle school. Notes that even students with high IQ's frequently score low on cognitive development measures, with children in the concrete stage of thinking usually unable to identify simple subjects and verb phrases. Recommends that until students achieve a level of formal reasoning they…

Three articles address different uses of computers in education. British inservice training for primary school teachers using microcomputer-based adventure software is described; fundings of two Canadian projects using computer teleconferencing are reviewed; and the use of computer-assisted instruction for primary school mathematics education is…

Discusses strategies for improvement of the mechanical and grammatical structures of written English while still focusing on content in composition. (NKA)

Examines class and ethnic differences in narrative style. Reviews recent research and outlines the basic differences between White middle-class narrative and the styles of various cultural groups. Explicates some of the uses of narrative in educational research and deals specifically with the educational implications of narrative differences. (CMG)

The introduction to this edition of the journal discusses why and how an effective translator must carry over Native American oral traditions into poetic and musical printed words for modern audiences. It evaluates various translation efforts and summarizes each article in the edition. (SB)

To alleviate current instructional and curricular problems, college English departments should cooperate with secondary schools in such areas as teacher training in writing instruction, reduction of teaching loads, and grading of papers of college-preparatory students. Colleges should also consider establishing admission requirements of four years…

Explores the issue of international students' sense of personal identity in relation to postgraduate argument texts and examines research students' own perceptions about their writing experience in the English language. Argues that the associations these students make between their self-concepts as learners and their English language texts have…

Argues that grammar correction in second-language writing classes should be abandoned because it is ineffective, harmful, and unhelpful in any interesting sense for theoretical and practical reasons. The article also considers and rejects a number of arguments previously offered in favor of grammar correction. (122 references) (Author/CK)