We compared 56 eighth-grade students who, 28 months previously, had received instruction in strategies for planning and revising their writing, with 21 students of similar academic ability from the same school who had not experienced the intervention. Both groups wrote an expository essay whilst logging their writing activities and completed…

Extending S. Graham and K. R. Harris's (2003) self-regulated strategy development model, this study examined whether self-regulation procedures would increase the effectiveness of a writing strategies training designed to improve 4th graders' (N = 113) composition skills. Students who were taught composition strategies in conjunction with…

More empirical studies are needed that evaluate interventions to improve the academic functioning of students with Asperger syndrome (AS). The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the use of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) writing instruction (Graham, Harris, MacArthur, & Schwartz, 1991) with an adolescent with AS. A…

An intervention aimed at improving academic writing--in particular, synthesis writing - was conducted with 52 undergraduate students of psychology of the University of Padua (Italy). Before and after the intervention, which lasted 12 weeks, participants were administered a questionnaire on beliefs about writing and a synthesis writing task. During…

In light of today's large amount of written workplace communication, this study attempted to reveal information regarding the quality in which business messages are encoded on the job. Data were gathered through a questionnaire administered to a sample of 1994-2004 MBA graduates of three AACSB-accredited programs. Findings suggest that business…

There appears to be little research on the standard of post-16 students' writing and how it can be improved. In respect of such students, the focus of teaching professionals seems to be on content rather than on the writing process; arguably this leads to weaknesses in written expression. This article examines some current research and follows one…

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of reflection in academic essays. Forty essays, all previously deemed to be of merit quality, were analysed in terms of three elements of reflection--how the educational issue is conceptualized; what the issue means for practice; and how practice might be changed to resolve the problematic. Each…

This study was a comparison of the changes in English writing behavior of 7 Japanese university students (the study-abroad group) who spent 4 to 9 months in English-speaking countries with those of 6 counterparts majoring in British and American studies (the at-home group) who remained in Japan. The study aimed at confirming the results of Sasaki…

This study examines the Daily Oral Language (DOL) program aimed at helping students learn mechanics of writing through daily editing exercises. This nine-month study sought to determine if DOL improved editing skills and actual writing skills of seventy fourth-grade students. While the results of this study did not statistically demonstrate the…

Discusses several techniques used in the popular press which may be used in technical manuals to communicate more efficiently and, sometimes, to make the manuals fun to read. (SR)

Word processing continues to be the focus in many classrooms, although more and more teachers now ask students to publish on the Web, engage in e-mail conversations regarding their reading and writing, create slide presentations that represent their learning, post to blog sites, etc. And while there is a growing body of research that supports…

Following less than 8 hr of instruction in the use of strategies to facilitate planning, self-regulation, and revising while writing opinion essays, a group of 3 middle school students with learning disabilities (LD) made substantial gains in each of 5 quality traits on which their papers were scored. On average, posttest scores of students with…

Grading papers may be one of the most stressful, most time consuming, and least rewarding activities in which professors engage. Although effective grading techniques for papers have been widely researched, especially within the "Writing" or "English" scholarly arenas, has this information been put into practice? The goals of this paper are…

A recent survey revealed that editors of education journals reject 83 percent of all the manuscripts they receive. Prospective contributors' most common mistakes include lack of familiarity with the journal, incorrect style, grammatical errors, lack of substance, and lack of clarity. Ameliorative suggestions are provided. (seven references) (MLH)

Clarifies the nature and definition of explanatory journalism. Distinguishes journalistic explanation from news analysis, interpretation, and investigation. Reveals, by using rhetorical analysis, that explanatory journalism within the journalistic profession is both praised and prized, evaded and reviled. Aims to set a clearer foundation for…