An action research project set out to increase students' writing fluency and investigate whether writing fluency varies as a function of writing prompts and directions given to students. Subjects were 62 students in a first-grade class, a second-grade class, and a fifth/sixth-grade Special Day class (all in this class are learning disabled) in a…

A study investigated whether peer tutoring in writing would lead to writing improvement. In a kindergarten-first grade classroom three children were tutored by fellow students, while three other students worked alone. The children's writing samples were collected and evaluated in three areas: spelling, longer sentences, and greater number of words…

Describes a study of writing in grades one through eight designed to identify types of misspellings, to determine at what grade level problems emerge, and to identify developmental changes in the kinds of errors committed. Found that students' spelling improved over nine years but concludes that spelling is essentially self-taught. (JAD)

Examined whether instruction on a single structure (the relative clause, the appositive, and the infinitive nominal) would alter frequency of use or global syntactic complexity and whether this instruction lasted beyond the immediate posttest. (HOD)

Researchers investigated the influence that perceived choice of music would have on student writing productivity. Participants included 2 fourth-grade classes in Louisa and Madison Counties, Virginia, for a total of 32 students. A survey was used to determine participants' preferences of music. A quasi-experimental design was utilized to…

Evaluates the effectiveness of a writing improvement program outside the English department. Finds that the program prepared students for writing on the job. Considers changes in the writing program to make it a true writing-across-the-curriculum program. (RS)

Investigates the effects of word processing on student's compositions to untangle the seemingly contradictory findings of earlier research. Finds that students are increasing their fluidity and fluency while simultaneously failing to organize and focus their increased verbiage. (RS)

Compares writing errors made by college freshmen and professional writers. Explains that 20 student essays were compared to 20 essays from the students' textbook, "Short Takes: Model Essays for Composition." Notes that students and professionals were almost equally prone to commit errors. Offers suggestions for improving student writing.…

Examines the effects of word processing on writing quality and the amount of text produced by basic writers. Finds that students using computers wrote more, but that there was no difference in quality between those who used a word processor and those who did not. (MS)

Analyzes writing samples of a child's letters to her aunt over a period of a year and a half to show how writing and reading influence each other. (SR)

A study examined the effect of computer-assested instruction on fourth graders' writing skills. Two fourth grade classes from one elementary school in New Jersey participated in the study. One class (the experimental sample) was taught to use the computer as a writing tool, while the other class (the control sample) used only pencil and paper.…

Based on the premise that planning in writing is a strategic response to both the writing situation and the writer's own knowledge, this paper describes the process adult writers bring to ill-defined, expository tasks, such as writing essays, articles, reports and proposals. The paper also states that in planning, writers draw on (nest and…

Based on recent findings in writing research, this document offers the following recommendations on how teachers can improve the writing skills of their students: (1) spend time on activities that require real writing rather than short answers and fill-in-the-blank exercises; (2) have students spend more time putting their thoughts on paper in a…

Summarizing the wealth of recent research on sentence combining as an effective method of teaching students to tighten and vary their written sentences, this booklet explains how and why sentence combining works. The first half of the booklet provides background information on sentence combining, exploring the basis for the claim that sentence…

Describes a California junior high school program using "Writing across the Curriculum." As the program developed over the years, writing became viewed more as a legitimate learning tool. (MD)