Argues that teachers need to be aware of the diverse conceptual demands made by writing assignments in various disciplines; illustrates this by analyzing four assignments. (DD)

A defense of tagmemic theory and its value in teaching composition. (DD)

Examines four approaches to evaluating writing, and notes the strengths and weaknesses of each. (RL)

This paper stresses the need for composition teachers to develop not only student writing skills but also the discourse theory by which those skills are taught. Several assumptions of current discourse theory are discussed, and with each assumption the author proposes research questions and procedures by which teachers themselves can evaluate the…

Provides several research questions regarding discourse theory, which can be answered by classroom teachers of writing using their students' writing. (DD)

Although certain features have been identified as most indicative of "syntactic maturity," these only partially answer the question, "What is mature writing?" Mature thought on the part of the author is reflected in writing in the following ways: recognizing that the audience is different from himself or herself; providing an appropriate context…

To make useful responses to students' writing, teachers must devote a good deal of effort to identifying mental processes implicit in the language of students and to refining the skills students already possess. (RB)

The purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive summary of current information on describing writing and measuring growth in writing, intended to help teachers decide which aspects of the process and the product to examine, how to determine a writer's specific instructional needs, how to measure growth in writing ability, and how to involve…