Discusses a study of the effects of first year composition students' use of a microcomputer as a word processor on the quality of their writing. Compares students who used the word processor with those who hand wrote their compositions, revealing greater improvement among the word processing group, regardless of initial skill levels. (PAA)

Discusses experiences with preservice teachers and models for writing instruction. Describes a tutorial component which shows that preservice teachers can change their teaching practices but at a rate and in a sequence determined by their beliefs about, attitudes toward, and experiences as writers and writing teachers. (MG)

Explains how teachers at Ramirez Elementary School in Lubbock (Texas) use thematic teaching to make connections across subject areas and to provide students with rich literacy instruction. Describes how these teachers implement social studies content to enhance their students' reading, writing, and thinking skills. Illustrates the power of…

Introduces the special issue on children's writing which contains seven articles that offer analytic portraits of the teaching and learning of writing from prekindergarten through seventh grade. Highlights the collective themes of a social perspective on writing, of children's diverse resources, and of the links between those resources and…

This article presents the results of a small-scale empirical study investigating engineering students' perceptions of writing in the classroom and workplace. It asks questions regarding the types and frequency of documents engineering students have written in school and internship settings, and it reveals both the strategies used to complete those…

This booklet is designed to help primary school teachers encourage and support children in learning to write during the first years of school. It discusses learning to write in the years before formal schooling, focusing on mediated contact with print, involvement in the everyday functions of print, experimentation with print, and support and…

A practicum developed and implemented a program to help change students' negative attitude toward writing, with the conviction that if students enjoy writing they will write more and produce writing that clearly communicates their ideas. The practicum's objectives were for 50% of the targeted students to: (1) write for at least 15-20 minutes at a…

One of a series of workplace education modules, this module includes activities and exercises for improving writing skills in the workplace. First, discussions of writing in the workplace are presented, highlighting tips for effective instruction, and of issues related to grading papers, including a sample evaluation form. Next, the assessment…

These three papers deal with ways to incorporate social studies into the language arts curriculum. The first paper, "What Social Studies Teachers Need To Know about Language Arts," provides suggestions on the writing process and how that process can be used in the social studies. Paper 2, "Applying Communications Activities to Learning Processes…

Ways to develop "creative automaticity" for writing in a foreign language are examined. The paper focuses on transactional writing (i.e., writing with the purpose of transferring precise information by such means as telex messages, business letters, memoranda, and short reports), and its main features of clarity and conventionality. It is noted…

This paper reviews studies concerning writing skills at the college level. These skills are examined within discussions concerning cognitive abilities, features of the written product, the various aspects involved in the writing process, and the mastery of specific genres and forms. It is observed that some studies draw their information from…

This book, intended for teachers of grades 1-3, offers a step-by-step model for teaching writing. Each of the book's 15 mini-lessons includes a model lesson, lists of picture books suited to the writing skill being taught, samples of children's writing, and ideas for extending the lesson. The book's lessons cover exploring ideas for writing,…

This document offers brief lesson plans for four courses: (1) an 8-hour refresher course for employees who write memos, short reports, and letters; (2) an 8-hour refresher course on creating a short document; (3) a 16-hour course on technical manual writing; and (4) an 8-hour course on technical manual writing. The courses were part of a workplace…

Providing a way to organize and document third- through sixth-grade student writing through the use of writing folders and other organizing aids, this book is for educators who believe that writing and word processing strategies and skills are best taught as students do real writing for a variety of readers. The book includes mini-lessons to…

This project was implemented and developed to assist low-achieving tenth grade students' essay writing skills. According to examinations administered during the first part of the 2002 school term, many tenth-grade students were not performing on their grade level in regards to the writing process. The overall goal was to have students be able to…