Examines assumptions underlying the ubiquitous distaste for gatekeeping evident in composition studies scholarship: namely, that the matter of gatekeeping can be settled by writing teachers themselves; and that students themselves need not be consulted about gatekeeping. (TB)

Suggests the need to integrate drama into any future unified theory of the writing and reading process as symbolic action. Argues for the use of drama as an analogy for re-thinking pedagogy, because drama provides a mode of thinking that emphasizes the interplay of agent and structure. (RS)

Explores the conditions that have given rise to the current reliance on non-tenure-track employment and how the attempts to deal with these conditions on an ad hoc basis has resulted in a broad spectrum of temporary and part-time situations. (PRA)

Investigates how social class affects the educational narratives of working-class students--both their initial access to four-year institutions and their ability to persevere until they obtain bachelor's degrees. Argues that a genuine concern with diversity should lead compositionists to question the selective functions of the academy and the role…

Explores the particular maneuvers students in a class on writing about film make as they encounter and attempt to absorb the languages of the academy. Examines the discourse of the class as a whole and the formal writing of a student who resisted academic discourse. Argues for the value of an incomplete conversion to the academic style. (RS)

Drawing on students' literacy autobiographies, this article critiques the premise that academic discourse and working-class identity are not only static but also in complete opposition. The author argues for a more performative theory of class, a theory that would, she explains, recognize that academic discourse creates social class distinctions…

Presents case studies of four students, each of whose attitudes and skills typifies those of a large group of students, to show how psychological, sociological, historical, and religious factors intersect to create the freshman writing student. (DD)

Found that classroom instruction was more effective than a tutorial approach to freshman English. (DD)

Urges that freshman composition teach students a general, non-academic, popular expository style, and that it be staffed by professional writers. (DD)

Described is a study designed to test on a scientific basis the effectiveness of Dr. Francis Christensen's program for teaching composition. (RY)

Based on a paper presented at annual convention of National Council of Teachers of English (Washington, D. C., November 28, 1969); appears in abbreviated form in Change" (January 1971). (Editor/RD)

Proposes, in prose and in charts, a theory of writing intended to unite the fields of composition studies and literature. (JL)

Examines the relationship that the field of composition studies has had in the past and is tending toward now with disciplines both genuinely and conditionally scientific. (JL)

Examines three standardized college composition tests in terms of the context of the assignment and the impact of social influences and the testing situation. Stresses inadequacies inherent to standardized composition testing. (HTH)