This coursebook provides materials for a course to improve the writing skills of workers in health care settings. The course is designed to be presented in eight sessions over a 4-week period. Stated objectives for the participant are as follows: feel more comfortable with on-the-job writing, understand and use a process approach to writing, be…

Recommends that writing teachers integrate word processing and revision strategies when teaching how to diagnose and correct structural writing problems. Presents exercises employing these methods in a first-year English composition course. Stresses the computer's ability to help students evaluate their writing, encouraging eventual independent…

Research on learning disabilities in students is reviewed, and classroom techniques for college instruction to support writing among these students are suggested. They include making an extra effort for clear classroom communication, dealing with errors in writing mechanics, helping students achieve coherence, giving hints for planning and…

Discusses the use of individual and group journals as a way to develop students' abilities to critically analyze reading materials in a college level sociology course. Describes the process by which the journals are written and evaluated. Contends that the learning strategy improved students' analytical abilities and writing skills. (CFR)

A teaching team from Fall Creek Valley Middle School in Indianapolis, Indiana sought to improve their students' writing skills by collecting writing samples in portfolios in each of their subject areas. This approach allowed the eighth-grade students to assess their progress as writers, see connections between the disciplines, and understand the…

Two groups of freshman students participated in the experiment. They were enrolled in their first ESL writing course. Before instruction, both groups were pre-tested. They wrote an essay. T-test results showed significant differences between both groups in writing ability. The experimental group made too many errors and had many writing problems.…

This paper argues for peer evaluation of writing, in addition to peer editing, for a complete student-centered learning experience. The proposed peer evaluation model addresses three shortcomings of the current writing class model: (1) instructor workload; (2) the problem of students' writing for an audience of one; and (3) the problem of…

Explored relationships between middle school students' writing processes and their written products. Results suggest that students need to engage in a variety of writing tasks; teachers must be aware of the complexity involved in composing to assess progress; editing must be kept in its proper perspective; and teachers should recognize that…

Reports on a study of the writing skills of 51 Italian fourth graders who used word processors for several months. Concludes that word processing can help motivate children and teachers to do more writing and that further improvement in writing skills would occur if the children received writing instruction. (CFR)

Intended as a resource for elementary and middle school teachers for use in literature focus units, reading and writing workshop, or thematic units, this book contains new instructional strategies such as interactive writing, story retelling, and word sorts. The book offers a grid recommending the most appropriate usage for each strategy,…

Draws on classroom observations, interviews, and writing portfolios to contend that competing demands in modern classrooms can lead to environments that sabotage the teaching of argumentative and persuasive writing. Concludes that the epistemology fostered by classroom talk and other activities was inimical to the complex rhetoric the teacher was…

Intended for teachers of students in grades 4 through 8 and beyond, this book offers a simple process for teaching students to think critically and write logically. Each lesson in the book provides three different writing templates: the beginning template is intended for third- and fourth-grade students; the intermediate, for grades 4 through 6;…

Seven articles offer ideas for teaching the arts. Topics include strategies for teaching "Romeo and Juliet," art projects geared to the needs of middle school students, a music listening club that involves parents, tips to help students write better, publishing student authors' work, an art project for at-risk students, and easing…

A study was conducted in spring 1991, spring 1993, and summer 1993 to determine the effect on the writing process of various types of word processing software used by developmental and second-level composition students. Analyses were conducted of developmental students (novice writers) and of composition students (above novice writers) at a Texas…

The 2007 meeting of the English Think Tank published here represents a sample of the English Think Tank V presentations. In reading these papers one is struck by the imagination and expertise possessed by so many members in the field. The paper topics fall roughly into four categories--assessment, diversity, literacy, and technology. This…