First years students' experiences and knowledge about research paper writing were studied to investigate how strongly the process writing movement has influenced instructional practice, and how appropriately students have been prepared for their college experience. Finds that many of the students arrived at college without the experience of…

A study compared writing scores and attitudes of second grade students in a traditional writing classroom and a writing process classroom. Subjects, 25 second-grade students in a writing process classroom and 26 students in a traditional classroom from the same rural school, were instructed in their respective classrooms for 6 months. Most…

A study investigated one dimension of metacognition--the knowledge of cognition--in first language (L1) and second language (L2) writing. Subjects were 20 students (10 L1 and 10 L2) in a first level college writing course. A questionnaire elicited subjects' definitions of good writing, their notions of the constituent features of the writing…

A study examined the influence of mode of discourse, experiential demand and gender on quality of student writing. All of the eighth-grade students (125,756) who participated in a statewide assessment of writing during spring 1989 and spring 1990 were included in the study. Eighteen writing tasks were administered during these two years. The…

The idea behind this project created by two teachers of different age groups was that providing students with penpals would give students a real audience to write to and change their attitudes about writing. Seventh graders and college students exchanged letters and were required to send working drafts of some class assignments to each other to…

This research shows that students often lack the ability to set appropriate goals for their learning. The students in this study did not take ownership in their education, and expected teachers to make decisions for them. The students in the study were fifth grade students in middle class communities in the Midwest. Analysis of probable cause data…

Suggests ways in which faculty advisors in racially integrated high schools can recruit minority students for the newspaper staff. Recommends looking for interested students in classes and asking colleagues to do the same and doing away with widespread misconceptions and relaxing some rules and regulations about participation in journalism…

Fourth graders whose written work received peer critiques wrote longer compositions than other students. Compared to students who wrote using pencil and paper, students who wrote using the WICAT computer program showed slight improvements in writing quality and attitude toward writing, and a slight increase in composition length. (BC)

Describes a restructured Chapter 1 program that provided supplemental support within the students' classrooms to raise expectations for Chapter 1 students' performance. Notes that expectations of teachers and students increased; portfolios of student work showed steady improvement in reading comprehension and writing ability; and standardized test…

Intermediate grade students with learning disabilities learned to work in pairs to help each other with editing and revising of their compositions. The 13 subjects made more revisions and produced papers of higher quality when revising with peer support than did 16 students in a process-approach control group. (Author/JDD)

Examines four college students' descriptions of their early reading experiences and their texts composed in class, to reveal notable parallels between their reading histories and their present writing performances. (SR)

Finds that the writing of the typical student enrolled in the community college composition class is qualitatively different from the writing of their four-year counterparts but that two-year college transfer students achieve the same level of writing competence as their nontransfer peers. Presents reactions of a two-year college instructor…

Maintains that reader response, a cooperative learning exercise where peers critique one anothers in- and out-of-class writing assignments, assists students in becoming better writers and enables them with some control over their education. Gives examples of how reader response can be used in the classroom and offers two handouts. (CMK)

Many of the most talented authors and artists of the past and present have shared their thoughts and their gifts with young children through picture books. Many picture books allow young children to explore important ideas and to stretch their minds far beyond rote memorization. Young children absorb knowledge at a very rapid pace. In an age of…

This study was conducted to obtain empirical data to inform policy decisions about exempting incoming students from a first-year composition (FYC) course on the basis of Advanced Placement (AP) English exam scores. It examined the effect of avoiding first-year writing on the writing abilities of sophomore undergraduates. Two three-page writing…