This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 27 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the effects of sentence combining on the writing of ninth grade students; (2) issues in technical writing curricula and teaching methods; (3) the uses of…

While the chapters of this book present a variety of perspectives, they share the common goal of redirecting and revitalizing research on written composition. The authors review research on written discourse and the composing process and raise questions regarding information and skills that teachers and researchers need to consider. The chapters…

To investigate differences in the writing processes of novice and expert writers, a test of writing skills was developed that required subjects to write a business letter in defense of a particular system of public transportation in response to a letter objecting to that system. In the first of three experiments, significant differences were found…

This paper provides a brief overview of three direct measures of writing assessment--holistic, analytic, and primary trait scoring--and several variations and combinations of the three. It then relates these measures to eight types of educational decisions: (1) diagnosis of individual learner strengths and weaknesses, (2) student placement, (3)…

Describes the Early English Composition Assessment Program of the Ohio Writing Project and the Ohio Board of Regents at Miami University. The project brings together high school English teachers who collaboratively grade papers and discuss the assessment process. Contains sample papers ranked by consensus. (SKC)

Laments the lack of respect with which graduate teaching assistants are treated in many composition programs. Describes a program at the University of Arizona that trains graduate assistants in teaching from a perspective of junior faculty colleagues and which stresses that composition instruction is a worthy and valuable profession. (SKC)

Examines the use of reference by kindergartners and second graders in told, dictated, and written texts. Explains findings in terms of increasing precision in the use of anaphoric and situational reference by mode. (HOD)

Reports the results of a questionnaire on student attitudes toward being referred to a writing lab and recommends that writing instructors be more sensitive to concerns of those students. (AEA)

Contrasts, through portraits of five young writers, the writing strategies of children used at home and in a kindergarten writing center that stressed a formal language arts program. Argues that the teacher's approach to writing instruction and the child's writing strategies must be compatible to ensure independent writers. (HTH)

Richard F. Thompson and Michael G. Southwell separately discuss William J. McCleary's article on reliability and validity problems in composition research (see EJ 210 755); Chris Madigan questions the data on composing processes of freshman writers reported by Sharon Pianko (see EJ 204 419); and C. T. Patrick Diamond examines the issue of the…

Summarizes secondary school students' opinions on the amount of writing they do in school, how they do it, and how it is evaluated. Concludes that the teachers of these students do not neglect writing in their classes. (JT)

Reports on a study that sought to describe and better understand the idea of three high school teachers as writers. Describes the potentials and problems of the idea in practice. Examines how writing teachers' own writing experiences shape their approaches in the classroom. (TB)

Outlines the historical development of female authorship in Great Britain during the years of the European Renaissance. Details the rhetorical strategies used by these authors to address a primarily hostile male audience. Considers the writing differences between the sexes in historical context. (HB)

Discusses the IEA Written Composition Study in relation to other IEA studies, national cultural patterns, and research on writing in general. Describes research design problems, development of representative writing tasks, and a scoring scheme based on a system of writing competencies and preferences and their elements. Summarizes preliminary…

Data on the writing achievement of 11th-grade students in 1990 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) may help answer the question of who is right: employers and educators who say students are poorly prepared in writing, or parents and students, who are more positive about the results of the writing preparation students receive…