Investigates eighth-graders' summarizations of a scientific article used in their science class. Presents an analytic coding system developed to describe and detail structural and semantic strengths and weaknesses of students' expository summary essays. (SR)

Presents a review of cognitive psychology research dealing with the organization and functioning of oral and written language production mechanisms. Discusses works dealing with the microstructural aspects of language, primarily oral production. Describes how the research perspective has evolved from modular to connectionist models. Examines the…

Describes the development and implementation of a curriculum model seeking to integrate the study of different types of text in a coherent and meaningful way. Explains the rationale of the model, supported by exemplar tasks designed by teachers working within the context of an integrated English, media and drama curriculum. Evaluates the impact of…

Two studies compared the process of authoring non-linear or linear stories with HyperCard by inner-city primary school students. Found that, with minimal support, primary school students were capable of constructing hypermedia stories with complex non-linear structures and that the use of non-linear structures appeared to encourage the integration…

A review of current research in writing to learn in the content areas provides a basis for focusing on instructional strategies, use of text structure frames, and metacognitive writing strategies. Students can use writing to comprehend to learn content area text in a variety of ways based on their particular learning objectives for that particular…

Explains how the writing process approach utilizing hypermedia software can help non-native speakers develop an awareness of English-language composition structures. Discusses the pedagogical basis for the writing process, as well as the benefits computers and specialized software can bring to the language classroom. (Author/VWL)

Identifies and describes the genres that a group of tertiary level English-as-a-Second-Language students produced during a process writing class in which they were free to decide their own topics, purposes, and audiences. Characteristics of these genres, the relationships among them, and their schematic structures are described. (Author/VWL)

This paper presents preliminary results from classroom-initiated research using text-graphing to develop metacognitive awareness among English-as-a-Second-Language engineering students writing the literature review section of their master's theses. Results found that text graphing can raise students' awareness of the rhetorical structure of…

Examines introductions to research articles written by three international graduate students and identifies three basic problems. Student and nonnative writers may have difficulty with handling both the hierarchical as well as the linear structure of written discourse, especially introductions that create problems for both the writer and the…

Investigates the ability of children at two grades and reading ability levels to write functionally appropriate expository texts. Finds that (1) virtually all the children understand the function and audience for exposition; and (2) reading level is significantly more related than grade level to sophisticated use of cohesion, organization, and a…

Describes three pilot projects carried out with a special version of a computer-assisted language-learning activity, known as SEQUITUR, that seeks to develop awareness of cohesive devices and coherence features by displaying the start of a text and offering possible continuations. Usage logs of responses given by native and nonnative speakers of…

Examines fifth- and sixth-grade students' metacognitive knowledge about the processes of writing narrative and expository texts. Finds that creating a communicative context enhances students' awareness of audience and purpose, as well as their understanding of different aspects of the writing process. (MG)

This article reviews recent projects using text structures and the writing process as frameworks to guide the composition dialogue. Learning-disabled students' attitudes toward writing as a required skill rather than a means of expression are confronted in the emphasis on dialogue. Several blank forms for organizing prewriting thoughts are…

This teacher's guide is intended for use in presenting a course to help Kodak Corporation employees develop the basic reading skills required in their workplace. The following topics are covered in the modules: prewriting thinking skills; information identification and organization strategies; awareness of the receiver's characteristics and needs;…

Examines changing aspects of communication due to globalization and internationalization: "genre" (social effects on production of text), national culture and literary canon, new communication modes and media, and impacts on communication curricula. Forecasts development of a new mode of thinking about meaning and semiotics in which…