Chaos theory provides a powerful lens for re-seeing a number of issues in composition studies ranging in scale from achieving a generative model for text production to articulating the very nature of the discipline. Chaos systems are nonlinear, have complex forms, manifest recursive symmetries between scale levels, have feedback mechanisms, and…

Discusses the importance of reading and writing a variety of materials to become a quality writer. (MG)

Contends that communication defines humanity and measures all media practice. Proposes that media practice is the quintessential expression and embodiment of contemporary humanity. Explains that in order to make sense of contemporary human experience, a new view of humanity must be developed. Concludes that dichotomies, such as those between…

A study investigated how Accelerated Learning (AL), a teaching methodology that purports to increase the quantity and improve the quality of learning, affected tertiary students' knowledge of and skills in writing and their feelings towards writing. AL has its origins in G. Lozanov's "suggestopedia." Believing that formal teaching…

Many universities rely on multiple choice or true/false tests to admit students to mass communication programs. The high stakes that prospective majors face suggest that there is an urgent need for departments to rethink their assumptions about entrance testing, as a narrow conception of scholastic ability can undermine any attempt to "weed…

Explores the relationship between writing ability, cognitive development, and orality among students of minority cultures, particularly the African American culture. Suggests that students from cultures with strong oral traditions do not lag behind other students but must nevertheless succeed in making the transition to written standard discourse.…

Reports on a study of teacher-student writing conferences which finds that conferences have an effect on the revision process; and the divergent backgrounds students bring to instructional events (in terms of writing ability, writing experience, or native language) have a structuring effect that cannot be dismissed solely as teacher bias or…

Martin Seligman's psychology research on depression, published in 7 books and hundreds of articles, shows a correlation between attributional style and depression. "Explanatory style" is another term nearly synonymous with attributional style, a habitual way to explain, positively or negatively, external events. A "learned"…

Try as she would, one instructor of preservice teachers could not convince her students that such skills as reading and vocabulary are not good indicators of how well a secondary student will write, especially in the case of minorities. One of the hardest sells to new teachers is that students--at all levels--should write extensively, regardless…

David Bartholomae's notion of "Writing on the Margins" is intriguing. He claims that good writers are those who "poise themselves on the margins in a tenuous and hesitant relationship to the language and methods of the university." This paradox is captivating because the margins serve as a place to which one is banished for not…

This paper presents the results of a review of 26 research articles, discussing the importance, frequency, and realization of hedges in science research article. It also considers why students find hedging so difficult to master and raises implications thereof. The need to present scientific claims with precision and caution means that hedges are…

When evaluating the work of congenitally deaf students whose native language is spatial and semiotic, composition teachers must avoid being what Marjorie Siegel calls "verbocentric," since congenitally deaf students are, in effect, learning to write in a language completely foreign to them in structure, syntax, and grammar. The…