Investigates how accurately writers detect violations of the writing rules of Simplified English (SE) and what sorts of mistakes are likely to be made when text is rewritten to conform to SE rules. Concludes that training tools such as the Simplified English Analyser can lessen the writers' difficulties. (SR)

Asserts that distinction between "error" and its social implications is false and that research and teaching based on that distinction is flawed. Considers how errors might be viewed as social in their production and correction, examines two ways in which this is elided in the literature, and explores how a social view of error might inform…

Lists the 50 most common writing errors made by college students of French. Mistakes in spelling, vocabulary, and grammar are included. (CK)

Addresses the lack of data on procedures used to recruit subjects in marital research by examining the effects of different sampling techniques. In Study One, couples recruited through newspaper advertisements were found to be at greater risk for marital discord. In Study Two, couples who responded to mailed solicitation were found to be less…

A multi-faceted Rasch measurement (MFRM) model was used to analyze a clinical skills assessment of 173 fourth-year medical students in a Midwestern medical school to investigate four types of rater errors: leniency, inconsistency, halo, and restriction of range. Each student performed six clinical tasks with six standardized patients (SPs), who…

The use of connectives in 41 academic papers written for an English writing course by Japanese students ranging from university sophomores to graduate students was examined. Connectives were categorized as additive, adversative, causal, and temporal. Each connective type was subject to certain types of error. Additive connectives tended to be…

Common problems encountered in teaching Chinese that involve classical, intentional malapropisms (learned errors) are discussed. Three aspects unique to Chinese are addressed: (1) since Chinese writing is logographic, some malapropisms occur because of similar graphs; (2) since many expressions come from classical Chinese, and instruction in…

Problems with finance data reported through the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) are reported. Less than one percent of institutions appear to have reported incorrect data for the fiscal year (FY) 1983 finance survey. One reporting problem concerns state appropriations that are radically different in previous years or that are…

The goal of this study was to find a way to quantify three criteria of representational quality, described by Greeno, so that it would be possible to examine statistically the relationship between representational quality and other variables related to problem solution. The sample consisted of 18 college students, 84 percent of whom had…

The use of error pattern analysis can reduce the time and money spent on editing and correcting manuscripts. What is required is noting, classifying, and keeping a frequency count of errors. First an editor should take a typical page of writing and circle each error. After the editor has done a sufficiently large number of pages to identify an…

A study was conducted to explore the generality of reconstructive processes of memory for social information. Sixty college students divided evenly into six experimental and control groups were asked to read one of two versions of a story: one in which a couple happily agreed not to have children, the other in which the man's desire to remain…

There are two types of errors made in feeling-of-knowing (FOK) studies: a commission error occurs when a subject answers a question incorrectly, and an omission error occurs when a subject fails to provide an answer for a given question. A subject makes a commission error if he or she responds to the following question, "In which city does…

A study examined the information processing construct of the speech rating error paradigm. Specifically, it tested the hypotheses that (1) attitude valence and dogmatism would interact in such a way that low dogmatic raters would show a positive trait error on the content traits material and analysis; (2) low dogmatic raters would evaluate a…

Verbal protocols were collected from math-anxious and math-comfortable college students while they solved algebra problems. These protocols were then examined for differences in problem-solving processes. Differences occurred in the use of two basic strategies: generating values and symbolic transformations. Math-anxious students generated more…

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Tests were normed on a national basis, administering the test to nationwide samples of subjects. Norms appear in the booklet, CLEP Scores: Interpretation and Use, and consist of the test score means for groups of students receiving grades of A, B, C, D, and F in the relevant course, the proportion of…