This paper outlines and discusses the development of a scoring system for content in children's transactional writing. The writing was collected as part of a project investigating the effects on attitudes and writing performance of mother-tongue use in second-language classrooms. (JL)

Examines how students view their teachers' comments on their writing assignments. Reports the results of a survey on how students view comments. Offers suggestions for what teachers can do to create a shared context for commentary. (PRA)

Examines if literature for urban youth can reflect reality and validate the significance of the minority individual as well as give them a vision for a better future and a sense that it is attainable. Identifies a strong correlation between the fictional experience as expressed in 20 novels and the characteristics of the urban life of minority…

Examines the effects of using organizational spokespersons of ethnic backgrounds similar to or different from possible stakeholders of a multinational organization. Finds that the degree to which undergraduate students identified with his or her own ethnic group affected spokesperson similarity ratings. Discusses implications for multinational…

Describes a writing assignment in which students from two different first-year composition classes evaluated and graded each other's papers. Discusses how this established a genuine audience, empowered students, and generated enthusiasm. (SR)

Indicates that the teachers viewed the Internet's influence on reading as an extension of traditional literacy skills. Notes that the elementary teachers noticed an increase in their students' motivation to write when their work was published on the Internet for a greater audience, but the secondary teachers did not find that was the case. (SG)

A study investigated what a group of 29 senior advertising students, part of "Generation X," at a midwestern university found "objectionable" in 35 selected contemporary magazine advertising executions. Using a Q-sort, students ranked the advertisements and completed a personal interview. The majority of the advertisements that…

In a study, 52 first-year college students were asked to complete questionnaires about their attitudes about legalizing drugs. The students were to offer persona judgments about hypothetical authors arguing for and against legalization. Next, the participants were assigned to read and evaluate essays for and against legalization, and then were to…

Two writing teachers designed a graduate-level seminar where other writing teachers could share writing with the global electronic community. They expected these seminar students to embrace this new technology because the benefits of Internet writing seemed to provide a practical way to promote audience, voice, and collaboration, three of the…

Examines the differences in how Black and White viewers process messages based on the race of television characters representing five occupations. Notes that findings from male college students suggest that Black viewers have better recall of Black occupational characters than White characters on television. Reveals evidence that both Black and…

Includes a preface and two articles: "Rhetoric in Action: Roger's Social Studies Classroom" and "Rhetorical Understandings for Social Studies Teachers." Details how one teacher applies rhetorical principles to teaching, so that student learning, enjoyment, and motivation increase. Focuses on the definitions and principles of…

Makes suggestions for professional performers working at community colleges, including learning about student demographics, the kind of performance sought, what has worked in the past, where and when the performance takes place, reason for the event, and how the college has presented performers in the past. Offers hints for making work with…

An informal study explored the dynamics of the task of writing college application essays, which urge self-revelation but are judged by omnipotent admissions committees. Four students in the top 17% of their class of 194 in a predominantly white suburban school completed think-aloud protocols as they drafted a response to an application question…

Explores the influences of context upon the writing of 18-year-olds in 6 subject areas in a secondary school in London, England. Examines how students and teachers negotiate compromises between using writing to understand discipline-specific concepts and using writing to pass examinations. (KEH)

Investigates Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development using peer social dialogue integrated with teacher support to develop children's reading, writing, and abstract thinking in story reflection and sense of audience. Reports that students showed improvement in word recognition, in fluency, and in evaluating their own reading…