Suggests a conceptual basis for asserting a relationship between sentence combining and reading improvement. (RL)

Suggests that autobiography is a fertile context for students to develop a facility for reading and writing and for defining and constructing themselves within an academic setting. Discusses using autobiography in an introduction to academic discourse course for developmental college students. (RS)

Proposes that universities should offer courses in developmental reading and writing to make this generation of students more effective and efficient processors of information. (EL)

Seven years of changes in a Practicum in Reading course has altered the responsibilities and accountabilities for preservice teachers tutoring in a public school. Changes, formative and summative assessment results for tutored children and implications for the program's future are discussed. A study examined whether the college literacy practicum…

Unlike trends in reading and writing instruction which are shortlived, such as speed reading, performance contracting, and the i.t.a. (initial teaching alphabet), certain influences exist which contribute to lasting improvements in reading and writing. Several factors can help to distinguish trends from the more permanent influences on education.…

Reading and writing teachers can use visual compositions--a grouping of pictures, photos, or slides suggesting a unified story or theme--to help students understand style and organization in writing. Students who are categorized as language deficient, have difficulty with invention, or are influenced in language learning by visual/spatial input…

Analyzes the effect of written assignments on improvement of reading. Describes a study conducted with 40 first-quarter college freshmen in a developmental reading program in which one group had written assignments and the other had none. Concludes that writing has a positive influence on reading. (JG)

As both draw upon language and experience, and both deal with meaning, writing and reading can be learned concurrently. Writing activities having a positive effect on reading skills include notetaking and sentence combining exercises. A more productive way of improving reading comprehension through writing is to have students base their writing on…

A study was undertaken to determine (1) whether community college freshmen who perceive certain structural considerations in their reading can generate essays that show application of those considerations, and (2) whether there are significant differences in the writing achievement of "more able" and "less able" students. The experimental group…

Defines some of the minimal conditions for effective instruction in reasoning and rhetoric. Argues that instructors must take account of the learner, pay regard to the cultural embeddedness of knowledge and the means by which that knowledge is assessed and transmitted. (PRA)

The primary aim of the reading center at Brigham Young University (Utah) is to teach typical university students critical reading skills, not just to work with students needing remedial or basic help. The reading center also serves as a resource for teachers in all disciplines who want help in recognizing and evaluating good reading, or who want…

Project ARETE and the English Festival, two programs sponsored by the English Department of Youngstown State University, are described in this report. The programs bring together university and public school teachers of all grade levels to reward students for reading and writing outside the classroom, assess student writing, renew classroom…

This annotated bibliography provides the educator with pertinent and practical information on the use of student journals in undergraduate courses. The bibliography presents the themes and key points for each of 16 articles (published between 1975 and 1988) located in professional journals and dealing with subjects ranging from teacher application…

Students in college basic skills programs will become more proficient writers not simply by being taught specific writing strategies, but also by greater exposure to the total linguistic system through reading. In the first of two reading projects initiated in an Ohio State University basic skills program, eight students participated voluntarily…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effect of writing instruction on reading comprehension and story writing ability; (2) eighth grade remedial students' concepts about reading and writing; (3) the effect of a…