The focus of this paper is on selected recent South African research studies that have explored efforts to promote the discussion, writing, and arguing aspects of scientific literacy in primary and middle schools, particularly amongst second-language learners. These studies reveal improvements in the participants' abilities to both use the…

Extending S. Graham and K. R. Harris's (2003) self-regulated strategy development model, this study examined whether self-regulation procedures would increase the effectiveness of a writing strategies training designed to improve 4th graders' (N = 113) composition skills. Students who were taught composition strategies in conjunction with…

More empirical studies are needed that evaluate interventions to improve the academic functioning of students with Asperger syndrome (AS). The purpose of this exploratory study was to evaluate the use of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) writing instruction (Graham, Harris, MacArthur, & Schwartz, 1991) with an adolescent with AS. A…

The author, a high school teacher and forensics coach, describes ways to teach writing--including on-demand essays--that draw on successful practices she developed in coaching. Students learn the importance of using personal conviction and qualified thesis statements to build arguments, as well as learning "The Debater Four-Step," an effective…

This article reports on a descriptive and exploratory study of near-beginner learners of French in English secondary schools, their cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and their general approaches to writing. There is virtually no research on foreign language writing at this level, conceived in this study as including the copying of words and…

As computer-mediated communication becomes increasingly prevalent in the workplace, students need to apply effective writing principles to today's technologies. Email, in particular, requires interns and new hires to manage incoming messages, use an appropriate tone, and craft clear, concise messages. In addition, with instant messaging (IM)…

Notes that guidelines for the curriculum in English published by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association have been criticized by a number of publications. Proposes a new guideline--for writing to convey factual information only. (PA)

Discusses William Zinsser, a former newspaperman and current essayist and teacher, who has spend decades encouraging people to write "warmly and clearly." Writing is a craft, a necessary skill for professional advancement, but not a mysterious form of artistry, he strongly believes. (EV)

Argues that a workable definition of transitions must take into account not only the word's meaning but also the writer's intentions and the way a transition changes depending on placement and function. Explores a group of transition words related to the idea of summary. (TB)

The writing approach framework provides a comprehensive perspective on college-level academic writing based on the relationship of writers' beliefs and strategies to the quality of written outcomes. However, despite increased demands for more and better writing at the graduate level, little is known about graduate-level writing processes or about…

Writing in its many forms is the signature means of communication in the 21st century. This simple truth heightens the urgency to help all of our nation's students become strong writers and effective communicators. The National Writing Project (NWP) pursues this goal by focusing the knowledge, expertise, and leadership of the nation's educators on…

The author writes that his experience in teaching has taught him that the perfect text simply does not exist, however the closest approximation to perfection lies in the direction of the classical world. Hal McDonald says that he cannot see how one can teach rhetoric without passing through pedagogical territory first cleared by Aristotle,…

Background: When writing a text, students are required to do several things simultaneously. They have to plan, translate and review, which involve demanding cognitive processes. In order to handle this complexity, writers need to develop a writing strategy. The two most well-defined writing strategies that have been identified, are those of a…

The idea that little attention has been paid to the creativity of the craftsmanship which produces a piece of scientific writing is discussed. Examples are used to support the proposition that this craftsmanship is worth studying in biological sciences as well as the humanities. (KR)

When they are new to the grant game, even scholars with fine publishing records can struggle with proposal writing. Many are surprised to find that the writing style that made them successful as academics is not well suited to crafting a winning proposal. To succeed at grant writing, most researchers need to learn a new set of writing skills. This…