Examines first graders' tacit shared understandings about composing as related to expectations about the processes and meaning of writing. Finds evidence of three cultural themes: (1) the processes of creating and sharing text-mediated relationships with others; (2) writing was used to explore "self" and the world; and (3) collaborative composing…

Notes that teachers can make writing assignments more acceptable by using innovative techniques. Suggests that using letter writing for research projects is a good motivational technique. Asks students to assume roles of persons of a specific historical period and write from the first-person perspective. Includes sample letter. (NL)

The head of the writing center at Rollins College, in an attempt to develop a metaphor for the writing center turned to peer writing consultants. Their suggested metaphors structure an essay about what a writing center should be: a community of consultants and clients working together, respectful of diversity, originality, tolerant of differences.…

A project developed a program for improving writing readiness skills. The targeted population consisted of 37 kindergarten students in an upper middle class southwest Chicago (Illinois) suburb. The need for writing readiness skills was documented through writing observation checklists, anecdotal records, writing portfolios, and diagnostic tests.…

This study identified courses associated with improvements in the writing skills of 455 first semester, freshman undergraduates at a large research university. Secondarily, faculty who taught these courses were interviewed to explore their teaching practices, course designs, and evaluation techniques. The same group of students was invited back…

A study was done at Western Michigan University of faculty and student perceptions of the effects of the baccalaureate-level writing requirements. The assessment was in two parts. First, a faculty survey requested information about: the development and evaluation of writing assignments, the relative importance of essential writing skills, typical…

A practicum was developed to determine whether the motivation of a private school's ninth grade English class (18 students) could be increased by gearing the course toward a specified, authentic public audience and whether an increase in motivation would positively affect the quality of and attitude toward writing assignments and the use of…

A practicum was developed to improve process writing skills of seventh grade at-risk students by increasing interest through the use of the microcomputer, word processing software, and telecommunications technology. Sixteen students wrote a series of eight "basic" hand-written essays as part of the regular language arts class. Students then…

First year writing students were asked which kinds of writing they enjoyed, and why. Their responses indicate a preference for "creative" writing, where "creative" is defined as "personal." The students in the research sample reacted against a form of knowing that requires them to place more emphasis on objects (human…

In recognition that remedial writing students, regardless of age, are accustomed to failure in written English, instructors of Glen Oaks Community College's developmental writing classes emphasize positive attitudes and activities, students' responsibility for their success or failure, and positive and reassuring instructor attitudes. The writing…

This practicum was designed to address the problem of low quantity and poor quality of writing in two lower level English classes (50 students). The objectives were to increase motivation for writing, thereby improving overall writing production by the students. A writing workshop was designed to improve the motivation of the students by…

A practicum incorporating cooperative problem-solving and cooperative process writing was developed to improve attitudes toward writing and to improve writing skills. The participants, 28 heterogeneously grouped grade 12 students, worked in cooperative learning groups throughout a summer session to develop their writing and their problem-solving…

This study examined transitional knowledge during literacy development, hypothesizing that there are times when the integration of reading and writing knowledges into literacy knowledges is problematic for children because these knowledges are out of synch with one another. Data were gathered from 46 kindergarten pupils, each of whom wrote and…

This dissertation presents the construction and development of a thesis that investigates links between discourses of gender and the production of writing by girls at primary school. The research took place over three years in a one-teacher rural school in country Victoria (Australia). The girls were aged from four to twelve. The research…

Studied discrepancies between Canadian first-graders' home and school literacy contexts regarding the contexts' potential to promote self-regulated approaches to reading and writing. Examined the extent to which differences were reflected in the children's attitudes toward and engagement in reading and writing at school. Found some discontinuity…