Examines the perceptions of one experienced and four inexperienced college writers regarding the functions of writing in academic settings, citing social and personal factors influencing content and motivation. Presents 13 functions following a developmental sequence identified through inference by the researcher, including responsive, evaluative,…

Delineates various conceptions of and arguments about problem solving and proposes a means for dealing with these conflicts. Argues that composition studies should strive to find a common language with which proponents of opposing views can communicate with each other. (MS)

Examines what is known about writing in both a first and a second language. Describes a study in which unskilled English as a second language writers in a "developmental" college writing course wrote an essay in class, compares the study's findings with the findings of some major studies of the writing process. (SED)

Presents a sampling of the issues contained in the rhetoric and composition papers presented at the Modern Language Association at the end of the nineteenth century. (EL)

A study investigated the effects of four writing strategies on fifth graders' idea production across three aims of discourse (informative, expressive, and persuasive) and the effect of gender. The four strategies tested were clustering, drawing, freewriting, and thinking. More than 100 children from varied socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnic…

Describes a case study of the composing strategies used by a professional writer, Donald Murray, concentrating on his planning and revision processes. (FL)

Discusses the composing skills that students need to acquire on their way to becoming better writers. (AEA)

Reviews materials in the ERIC system that level criticisms at creative writing in the schools and that present suggestions for activities that promote good writing that is also creative. (HTH)

Documents the progressive spelling strategies and improvement of one third-grade student over the course of eight drafts. (HTH)

Identifies some of the assumptions and implications of the current research about writing and shows why they are open to question. (RL)

Reports on writing research about revision. Notes the implications of this writing research for classroom applications. (RL)

Presents a model to be used as a deductive frame for investigating the composing process. Lists 12 steps in the sequence proposed as the composing process. (RL)

Drawings and writings of two children produced for each year from age four to eight were presented to "experts" in the field of style to see if they could determine which student did each picture or paragraph, based on stylistic consistencies. Concludes that style is inherent in a child's first compositions. (HTH)

Shows that teachers' written responses to student writing are usually concerned with form and that two kinds of responses are most often used: (1) evaluation--usually of a general nature (a grade or "well written") and (2) instruction--usually focusing on specific language structures by correcting mechanical errors. (HOD)

Reviews research on writing and talking, concluding that the common contention that oral language forms the basis for pupils' written language in the middle grades must be qualified. (GT)