This paper reports an exploratory study of 60 English as a foreign language (EFL) student's experiences of online peer feedback in an essay writing course at Islamic Azad University, Dezful Branch. They were required to comment on their peers' writing essays using the checklist to whom had been made available, but in different ways. The groups…

This report presents second year information about the degree to which children and young people in Middlesbrough enjoy reading and writing, how often then engage in reading and writing, what types of materials they read and write and how they feel about reading and writing. It also outlines information about their confidence in their own…

Four-week summer academy programs served homeless children and adults in two contiguous innovative learning programs. The programs may be the first of their kind in the homeless literature in which both adults and children were exposed to career, academic, and leadership opportunities in the supportive learning environment of a university campus,…

This study examined the effects of marking method and rater experience on ESL (English as a Second Language) essay test scores and rater performance. Each of 31 novice and 29 experienced raters rated a sample of ESL essays both holistically and analytically. Essay scores were analysed using a multi-faceted Rasch model to compare test-takers'…

Purpose: The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characterize the name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment (LI), (b) to identify those emergent literacy skills that are concurrently associated with name-writing abilities, and (c) to compare the name-writing abilities of…

In the rating scales of major international language tests, as well as in automated evaluation systems (e.g. e-rater), a positive relationship is often claimed between lexical diversity, holistic quality of written or spoken discourses, and language proficiency of candidates. This article reports a "posteriori" validation study that analysed a…

The aim of the present paper was to investigate the effects of processing instruction and traditional instruction on Iranian EFL learners' writing ability. Thirty participants who were non-randomly selected out of 63 Intermediate EFL learners, taking English courses in a language institute in Khoy-Iran, participated in this quasi-experimental…

This article compares essays written in response to the ACT Essay prompt and a locally developed prompt used for placement. The two writing situations differ by time and genre: the ACT Essay is timed and argumentative; the locally developed is untimed and explanatory. The article analyzes the differences in student performance and predictive…

This research investigates students' performance while writing Chinese essays using an interactive online writing system. Participants include students from two seventh-grade classes of a junior high school in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. The experimental group uses the conditioned writing interactive online system, while the control group receives…

In an ex post facto causal-comparative research design, this study investigated the effectiveness of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) programs on raising the student writing achievement. Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) writing achievement scores from the 2010 administration were utilized for this study. The independent variable…

This study took place in the context of schools collaborating with a local university to implement an evidence-based, 3-tiered model of prevention and supports targeting academic, behavioral, and social goals. We examined whether Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) instruction, delivered by grade 2 and 3 general education teachers to all…

In the county schools, students are assessed every nine weeks based on a writing prompt using a rubric supplied by the county, but the students are often taught using Writer's Workshop. This action research attempted to determine if Writer's Workshop and the use of writing prompts have different effects on first graders' writing ability and…

The purpose of this research study was to explore what effect instruction in metacognitive strategy (MS) use had on student achievement in a hybrid developmental English course at a community college. The study examined whether the addition of teacher-led or peer-led instruction in MS use would result in improved writing ability for the student…

Reflects on three major issues that confronted researchers conducting a comparative study of achievement in written composition as they attempt to measure performance in writing across many languages and cultures. Concludes that most assessments of writing simply measure perceived drafting quality, which is a highly subjective judgment. (MG)

Compares the discourse knowledge and self-regulation of good and poor writers, as well as the quality and length of their final texts; 48 junior-college students wrote a comparative text. Results showed that poor writers were no more linear than good writers, and no less actively self-regulated their writing. Good writers produced larger texts of…