Finds that major differences of opinion exist between students and teachers with regard to the report-writing process. Notes classroom strategies that create congruent perceptions of the task. (SR)

Investigates whether readers are aware of and have any preferences about paragraph length. Finds that readers are aware and have a more positive attitude toward writing with paragraphs of less than 100 words. Finds that paragraph length does not affect attitudes toward the expertise of the writer, ease of comprehension, or quality of the passage.…

Finds that students understand reading and writing as demonstrations of what they know, with the purpose of giving teachers what they want, and the hope of getting an "A." Shows that they begin to believe themselves so incompetent that they no longer enjoy reading and writing; indeed, they read and write as little as possible. (SR)

Asserts that scholarly writers often ignore their audience when writing for publication. Offers suggestions for editors to help scholars write to communicate and be read. (PRA)

Investigates whether students are using a process approach to writing by examining pictures drawn by first year college students illustrating their procedures for writing a paper for school. Discusses various aspects revealed in the drawings. Finds that a process approach is scarcely apparent. (SR)

Asks college-level seniors in a business communication class which activities they believe help them improve their writing. Discusses the changes in their preferences between the first and last days of class. States that the results were disappointing because students seemed to value grammar exercises and lectures over outside reading and…

Explores claims about creative writing through students' experiences in a summer introductory fiction workshop for non-English majors. Suggests that in writing instruction, the critical and the creative need to go hand in hand. Concludes that critical reflection on the makings and use of stories is crucial for students planning careers in…

Summarizes 24 authors' attitudes and experiences in electronic authorship: its challenges, advantages, and disadvantages. Offers suggestions to guide authors who want to publish electronically. (SR)

Conducts case studies of proficient undergraduate writers from working-class backgrounds in the context of a course preparing sophomore and junior students to be tutors for first-year basic writers. Finds that students explained their experiences suggesting a greater degree of agency, an awareness of themselves as writers in a "contact zone," and…

Examines the extent to which asking 20 entry-level and 19 basic-level college writing students to articulate their initial intentions for writing facilitated the identification of 3 kinds of instructional problems students face in moving from intentions to texts. Suggests that students with useful initial intentions write more effective texts than…

Composition teachers and researchers recognize the difficulty young writers, especially females, face as they enter postsecondary education and attempt to learn the language of the academy. Addressing academic audiences "takes confidence and authority, qualities that are often challenged in women because of their historical exclusion from and…

Realizing that non-traditional students must cope with a campus that remains primarily oriented toward the 18-year-old just out of high school, the college teacher must make sure that both traditional and non-traditional students feel comfortable together in the classroom. College English teachers can help non-traditional students by letting them…

Few empirical studies have focused on how composition students draw on classroom interactions to develop as writers. For instance, when students disagree fundamentally in their interpretations of what they have read, how are the range of voices reflected in their subsequent writing? The student-led format for discussions proves conducive to…

This document consists of the three issues of the ARTE newsletter published during 1993. This newsletter describes organizational objectives and activities of the Assembly of Rural Teachers of English (ARTE), and presents articles of interest to rural English teachers. Articles discuss: (1) promoting and capitalizing on positive feelings of family…

Collaborative writing is a "messy" process which reveals much about the ways students struggle to write alone as well as with others. Two sections of an undergraduate college writing class were assigned a collaborative essay, to be written in small groups. In many groups, students could not negotiate or communicate with each other. The process…