This literature review looked at relevant research articles published in reputable journals from 2018 to 2022 to try to shed light on the areas: (1) Implications of using thematic progression pattern to improve the coherence and unity of student essays; and (2) The effects of thematic problems using the thematic progression approach in the…

Expressivism lost status and respect in composition and rhetoric during the 1990s, despite attempts by some to defend its insights. Few in the field call themselves expressivists today, and yet we can recognize traces of this movement in work by contemporary scholars and theorists. Indeed, the field itself still retains commitments that echo that…

Writing is a crucial means of communicating with others and thus vital to success and survival in modern society. This article provides an overview of recent research and key findings about writing, including the roles of cognitive and social processes during writing, and educational research on how to improve writing proficiency. Writing…

Written corrective feedback has been subject to increasing attention in recent years, in part because of the conceptual controversy surrounding it and in part because of its ubiquitous practice. This study takes a meta-analytic approach to synthesizing extant empirical research, including 21 primary studies. Guiding the analysis are two questions:…

While the editors of "Across the Disciplines" were working at the Michigan State University (MSU) Writing Center in 2011, they began focusing on the issues of graduate writing support through their involvement with the graduate writing groups hosted through the MSU Writing Center, conducting research on the benefits of such groups. When…

For more than a decade now, a great deal of research has been done on the topic of written corrective feedback (CF) in SLA and second language (L2) writing. Nonetheless, what those research efforts really have shown as well as the possible implications for practice remain in dispute. Although L2 writing and SLA researchers often examine similar…

Reports that professional writing students using computers wrote significantly better papers than their counterparts in traditional classrooms. Attributes the success of this study (other studies have failed to find significant differences) to the population of skilled, motivated, upper-level students and consistent use of computers from planning…

Evaluates a method of re-drafting that puts the emphasis on meaning rather than appearance of text and reveals pupils' ability to improve their written work unaided. Presents evidence concerning how a group of low ability students alter their own written work when reading it aloud. (MG)

Reports on a study that explored, first, how metadiscourse can enhance college students' awareness of readers' needs and, second, how the use of metadiscourse is related to the quality of the texts that students produced. Suggests that metadiscourse produces better student writing. (TB)

Analyzes how students from different interpretive communities shape academic texts. Examines subjects' texts in terms of writers' manipulation of both content and procedural knowledge. Suggests that mere participation in an interpretive community without explicit instruction in its ways of writing can enhance students' ability to write in that…

Discusses how computer technology has brought with it a rethinking about how writing happens. Notes that research indicates that computers have a positive impact on student writing. Lists 15 web sites that may help teachers and students with the task of writing. (SG)

Discusses a model of argumentation adapted for instructional intervention with general education students and students with learning disabilities (LD). Reports results from three studies in which an experimental intervention has achieved some success in addressing the difficulties that students with LD have with argumentative writing. Draws…

Writing--and lots of it in all genres--is at the heart of the language arts curriculum and the skills of critical thinking that students need to develop to become prepared consumers and citizens. In this article, the author reflects on her growth as a writer and teacher, and offers an overview of what people know about writing, what they need to…

Since 1975, an honors course in freshman composition has been offered at Emanuel County Junior College (ECJC), a unit of the University System of Georgia, for academically superior students whose needs may not be met by the standard curriculum. The process of identifying honors students involves screening entering students to identify those who…

A study was conducted to replicate partially John Gould's study using more advanced machines and editors, and to test several of Colette Daiute's hypotheses about writing with the computer. Gould's study indicated that expert writers using text editors required 50% more time to compose on text editors than on hard copy, and the extra time did not…