One ingredient that may serve as a catalyst for writing development is changes in writing knowledge. This study assessed the veracity of two tenets underlying this proposal: that skilled writers are more knowledgeable than less skilled writers, and that individual differences in knowledge are related to writing performance. Both of these…

Without adequate reading comprehension, writing proficiency, math competency, and critical thinking skills, students pursuing higher education are vulnerable to failure. An environmental Science course built around academic wholism is the focus of a summer program designed to bridge the gap between high school and college. Students self-reflect…

Performance assessments have become the norm for evaluating language learners' writing abilities in international examinations of English proficiency. Two aspects of these assessments are usually systematically varied: test takers respond to different prompts, and their responses are read by different raters. This raises the possibility of undue…

Teacher educators frequently express concerns regarding teacher candidates' writing knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Concerns include candidates' proficiencies for writing correctly and communicating effectively, teaching writing appropriately to preK-12 graders, integrating writing authentically across the curriculum, guiding preK-12 student…

This study investigated the level of generalizability across a few high quality assessment tasks and the validity of measuring student writing ability using a limited number of essay tasks. More specifically, the research team explored how well writing prompts could measure student general writing ability and if student performance from one…

This case study of three teacher education programs in California colleges aimed to answer two questions through informal interviews of methods course instructors and analysis of the associated course syllabi: First, what assumptions or theories of professional development appear to inform the various methods courses for preservice secondary…

Chaos theory provides a powerful lens for re-seeing a number of issues in composition studies ranging in scale from achieving a generative model for text production to articulating the very nature of the discipline. Chaos systems are nonlinear, have complex forms, manifest recursive symmetries between scale levels, have feedback mechanisms, and…

Examines employers' expectations and perceptions of communication new hires at three points in the school-to-work transition. Focuses on writing and related conceptual abilities. Concludes that broad generalizations about communication abilities of communication new hires may be unwarranted because performance expectations and the level and types…

This study explored the extent to which the reading-to-write construct is the sum of one's reading and writing abilities or an independent construct. The investigation included an analysis of (a) test tasks, (b) the relationship of test task scores and scores on reading and writing measures, and (c) the effects of proficiency level and educational…

This study examined student perspectives about writing by interviewing both typically developing and struggling writers in Grades 2 through 8. The findings revealed a progressive developmental pattern of writing knowledge in which novice writers place more emphasis on the physical product and local meaning, while more experienced writers focus on…

Whereas most research on child second language acquisition has focused on the oral production of children, studies are needed to illuminate patterns of literacy development in a second language. This paper aims to shed some light on this process, focusing on the English writing development of a native Spanish speaker, and on the Spanish writing…

Examines the importance of a working knowledge of the mechanics of the English language to good professional journalistic writing. Finds that newspaper editors judge reporters on their writing mechanics, expressive skills, and journalistic abilities. Finds that reporters judge themselves accordingly. Finds that English majors scored better than…

Explores Katherine Paterson's novels and her ability as a writer to plumb the mythic depths of everyday experience. Discusses the heroic journeys of her characters. (MG)

Notes that high school counselors may be called upon to write letters supporting student applications to local community scholarship organizations. For those counselors asked to write such letters of recommendation to these groups, a number of suggestions are offered and discussed. (NB)

The assessment of writing ability is notoriously difficult. Different facets of the assessment seem to influence its outcome. Besides the writer's writing proficiency, the topic of the assignment, the features or traits scored (e.g., content or language use) and even the way in which these traits are scored (e.g., holistically or analytically)…