This study attempted to establish a desired image of an expert science writer based on a synthesis of writing theory, models, and research literature on academic writing in science and other disciplines and to contrast this desired image with an actual prototypical image of scientists as writers of science. The synthesis was used to develop a…

Many traditionally held academic views of personal writing have myths embedded in them. These myths include: (1) anything written in the first person singular is autobiographical; (2) personal writing can only exist in an expressionist classroom and is often uncritical and unproblematic; (3) student personal writing is a dying genre, and college…

A study examined the relevancy of freshman composition to writing in the workplace. Four professionals in middle management who had been out of college for a number of years were surveyed by e-mail about their writing in the workplace, college education, freshman writing classes, and importance of seven skills employers want employees to have.…

Recounts how an eighth-grade teacher used reflective portfolios with her students to help them overcome their reluctance to write and to get them to see writing as a way to learn about themselves as students and as individuals. States that the teacher wanted students to be enthusiastic about writing as a part of everyday life. (PA)

Discusses general issues related to attitudes towards writing, which may be of interest to those working with English-as-a-second-language students, especially students coming from educational settings where writing is not traditionally taught. Presents the practice of the Writing Center at Central uropean University, one of the few centers in…

Findings from a study of 120 first grade children who had regular access to language arts computer experiences indicate (1) young children do not perceive reading as a female activity; (2) for writing there was no consistent gender association; (3) computer use was seen as a masculine activity by all children. (IAH)

Reports findings from interviews conducted with four inexperienced writing students and one experienced writer regarding their awareness of external and internal audiences guiding their writing. Most inexperienced writers perceived only external audiences (e.g., teacher-as-audience), although one inexperienced writer and the experienced writer…

Makes a case for asking secondary students to read their compositions aloud to their peers. Reviews techniques that may be taught to prepare students for public reading and listening. Describes a program in which high school students write custom-made stories for individual elementary school students. (TB)

Finds that students perceived several areas of improvement associated with writing-intensive classes: writing skills, knowledge acquisition, and problem-solving abilities. Finds that students also reported they had become better writers through interaction with their professors during the writing process and wanted to better understand the…

Compares students' perceptions of themselves as readers and as writers. Finds that students in a traditionally academic classroom defined writing as handwriting, while students in the other classroom (which used an emergent literacy approach) saw themselves as authors despite the fact that some students were still in the early stages of writing.…

Finds that root organizational metaphors significantly influence writers' rhetorical choices and perception of their communication role. Shows that 23 staff writers described their communication activities in mechanistic terms, which complements their organization's view of itself as a smoothly operated machine, and explains why writers were not…

Assesses writing attitudes and epistemologies of 117 first-year and 329 upper-level undergraduates. Uses attitude scales and epistemological scales. Finds that students with higher "evaluatism" scores tended to enjoy writing more, and that differences in attitudes and epistemologies emerged between men and women and among upper-level students in…

Uses ethnomethodological perspectives to translate the language of Flower and Hayes's cognitive theory of writing into a more thoroughly social vocabulary as a way of articulating the role of social context and social structure in individual acts of writing. (SR)

Discusses how to respond to student writing. Offers two assignments that encourage a dialogue between the teacher and student. Relays actual student comments and the process of helping these students. (PRA)

Discusses five things which help the author (herself a reluctant writer) to push past her own doubts, and notes how they are helpful in working with students who are reluctant to write. (SR)