This collaborative study examined episodes in primary through secondary classrooms in which writing and reading were working together, exploring the extent to which student learning and development were enhanced. Review of research and extrapolations from classrooms suggest that benefits for students are likely to be accrued in four areas: (1)…

This paper connects recent research with common student problems in writing research papers and offers an analysis of the range of synthesis tasks and some reasons why students have difficulty with the demands of these tasks. The paper focuses on the student's problem of not knowing how to think about material in ways that allow him or her to say…

Plain talk is the cornerstone for creating a classroom atmosphere in which students want to learn to improve their writing. As much as possible, the jargon and technical terminology of the profession of English should be eliminated. Teachers will know what level of language to use if they determine the nature of their audience. Teachers have to…

A study examined whether billboard advertising of tobacco and alcohol products is differentially targeted toward White, Black, Asian, and Hispanic neighborhoods. The study analyzed 901 billboards in neighborhood commercial districts in San Francisco, California, giving particular attention to tobacco and alcohol billboards. Neighborhood census…

Since 1992, through the Upcountry Writing Project, upstate South Carolina teachers have helped students in K-12 classrooms write for and about their communities. These teachers and students have learned much about what it takes to actually craft a genuine sense of place. By publishing, they have not only crafted pieces about their locales but have…

Provides guidelines for designing Web sites: identify audience and information needs; make addresses easy to type and remember; consider audience software; keep files short and images to a minimum; categorize information for clarity; use clear contents statements; provide a mix of original documents and others located elsewhere; provide mechanisms…

Describes a project in which engineering students wrote science books for children as part of a technical writing course focusing on how writers adapt to the audience. Discusses children's positive reactions to the books, and notes the engineering students' enthusiasm for the project. (MM)

Writing strategies were incorporated into a pharmacy program communication skills course, and their effectiveness measured in comparison with a previous student group (n=20). Experimental subjects (n=28) showed significant improvement in writing, verbal skills, ability to formulate ideas, and identifying appropriate target audience, and had…

Describes a writing project for middle school students in which they learn about the writing process by creating "choose your own adventure" stories. (MG)

Ten children, 5- to 9-years old, taught magic tricks to absent and present peers through tape-recorded and face-to-face instructions. Children's informative, descriptive, and persuasive speech was compared for absent and present peers, and effects of age, practice, and trick length were assessed. Results revealed skills for informative and…

Teachers in junior high schools using the Channel One newscasts were surveyed. Results indicated high levels of support for the programming content, journalistic professionalism, and media production values. Teachers revealed most of its teenage audience is more aware of current events. A minority of respondents objected strongly to the…

Discusses Web-based instruction (WBI)and presents a decision making model based on a set of questions relating to the use of WBI. Topics include motivation for WBI; content and pedagogy, including instructional design; the target audience, including characteristics of successful online students; time factors; resources needed, including costs,…

Suggests the authentic audience found on the Internet has a profound effect on the quality of student writing in all grades, and that the key to successful technology projects is integrating them into the curriculum so that computers are a means, not an end. Offers ideas for classroom activities and projects using stand-alone computers, and using…

This article discusses the response of at-risk students to their initial library orientation. By presenting an entertaining yet informative session, students will be quickly put at ease. The goal of this type of orientation is to promote the library's resources and services, address basic queries, and encourage students' return in a…

This assignment reflects a client-based pedagogy, which is often used in technical and professional communication courses. Unlike service learning pedagogy, which emphasizes social activism, client-based pedagogy focuses on helping students to understand and respond effectively to "real-world" clients and their organizational contexts. Also,…