Characteristics that describe composition studies at its best (interdisciplinarity, collaborative, dialogic, radically democratic, maintaining a dynamic tension between "praxis" and "theoria") do not reflect a view of writing which is widely shared either by academics in fields other than composition or by those engaged in…

A practicum provided 10th- grade students in 2 English honors classes with direct instruction in sentence combining. The goal of the program was to increase the syntactic complexity of student writing, to have students express more in each sentence. Instruction was approached from different aspects. The students worked with two textbooks on…

This action research project describes a program to increase the basic writing ability and improve the attitude of sixth grade students. The targeted classroom was located in a unit district 45 miles northwest of a large metropolitan area. The district's population consists of a large amount of minority students and low-income families. Evidence…

This action research is designed to help students improve their writing skills and their confidence in themselves as writers. The targeted population is third graders in a suburban Chicago, Illinois elementary school. Evidence of the need to improve writing skills exists through teacher observation and evaluation of student writing, and scores on…

Two writing teachers designed a graduate-level seminar where other writing teachers could share writing with the global electronic community. They expected these seminar students to embrace this new technology because the benefits of Internet writing seemed to provide a practical way to promote audience, voice, and collaboration, three of the…

This paper advocates a pragmatist approach to teaching the composition of academic discourse. It discusses teaching directly the conflicting positions of academic discourse as elitist jargon or as key to advanced conceptualization. The suggested pedagogical method involves the examination of academic discourse in general, and the procedure of…

This study tested the influence of writing self-efficacy, writing apprehension, perceived usefulness of writing, and writing aptitude on 218 fifth graders' essay-writing performance. Students' beliefs about their abilities directly influenced apprehension, perceived usefulness, and performance, and partially mediated the effects of gender and…

Continues an ongoing discussion about networked computer technologies and writing center practice. Examines the underlying theories of technology shaping attitudes and actions toward technology. Offers lab administrators a framework for thinking about accounts of technology use they hear; whether they wish to add computer networked technologies to…

Explores the effects of "Collaborative Writer" software on students' collaborative writing processes and attitudes. Finds that this approach helps students develop equitable divisions of labor, subtly supervise their peers, share ill-formed information, and coordinate writing that is continually evolving. (RS)

Assesses the need for good writing skills in large accounting firms that operate in an increasingly competitive environment with new imperatives of client service and business development. Analyzes specific kinds of writing by professional accountants, and examines how firms encourage good writing through training, hiring, and evaluation…

Describes writing assignments in which students in Pennsylvania, Montana, and South Dakota exchanged writing on BreadNet, an electronic network. Notes that as students wrote within a meaningful and purposeful communication context, they learned to test their stereotypes, to expand their writing skills, and to perceive the computer as an instrument…

Examines the effect of sustained silent reading and writing on achievement of seventh and eighth grade students reading two or more years below grade level. Finds significant improvement in reading achievement, writing, and attitude toward reading for both seventh and eighth grade students. (RS)

Suggests topics and assignments to elicit real, authentic, and expressive student writing. Such "real writing" tasks ask students to look inside themselves and to write genuine responses and about actual feelings and beliefs. (TM)

Discusses the challenge and justification for three writing instruction methods: (1) a regularly scheduled block of time for writing; (2) self-selection of topics by students; and (3) writing across the curriculum. Emphasizes the importance of creating a classroom environment and processes that nurture in students the desire to write. (TJQ)

Compares essays by college students from Mali and from the United States, exploring cross-culturally the influence of orality and audience or written discourse. Finds that the "other-directed," group-directed dimension of the Malians' writing contrasts with the overwhelming by self-referential dimension of the U.S. students. (SR)