Describes the problem-solving approach implemented in the University of Manitoba's first-year technical communication course. Considers technical writing as a process which can be broken down into steps: classify, analyze, test, and solve. Explains that this process offers students the methodology and flexibility they need to solve either…

Examines the characteristics of prewriting activities of unsuccessful writers who took the Alberta Universities' Writing Competence Test. Finds that the students' limited and ineffective use of prewriting strategies interferes with their ability to generate and develop ideas in writing a timed essay. (KEH)

Written and oral communications and the processes of writing and reading are highly valued within the scientific community; scientists who communicate well are successful in gaining recognition and support from members of their own communities, the research funding agencies, and the wider society. Yet how do scientists achieve this proficiency?…

This study investigated 3 English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing teachers' and 39 of their ESL students' attitudes toward feedback and its uses. The results indicated that students preferred teacher feedback over non-teacher feedback, though the three teachers used non-teacher feedback frequently in their classes. (37 references) (MDM)

"Lifewriting" provides a different model for the school composition class, a model that changes the traditional images of the student and teacher at work. Lifewriting--the composing of personal stories, anecdotes, and memoirs--has a beneficial effect in that while it begins with personal expression, the dynamics of the lifewriting group…

Describes a study conducted at two Canadian universities that surveyed a cross-section of 361 faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students to assess computer availability, experience, attitudes toward computers, and use of computers while engaged in academic writing. Compares advantages and disadvantages of writing on a computer versus written,…