The use of prose models in the English as a second language writing class has been criticized for promoting product-based rather than process-based learning. However, the process-centered approach has a number of drawbacks, and prose models can solve some of these inherent problems. Properly designed models can be an essential part of a writing…

A principal cause of the seeming "foreignness" in the compositions of English as a second language (ESL) university students is discussed, and an approach to correcting the problem is suggested. It is asserted that the English language compositions of ESL students reflect native language rhetorical norms which are culturally based. Discourse bloc…

While teaching mechanical aspects of writing in English as a second language (ESL) to ten- and eleven-year-olds has been found to be relatively simple, the most difficult thing to teach, and the first to break down when guidance is removed, is logical information sequencing. Without guidance, most children will produce random sentences, but when…

Explains a three-step method of presenting the logical relationships indicated by connecting words (e.g., similarly, however, and therefore) so that developmental students can use them by building upon their understanding of coordinate and subordinate sentences within the paragraph structure. (DMM)

This paper describes a program that systematically increases the composition productivity of disabled students who are inexperienced writers. Program features include building discourse units, using student-generated language, and incorporating self-evaluation. Procedures for small group instruction focus on constructing and testing clauses,…