A text's meaning is, in part, independent of its form. Reading, most of the time, is taking meaning--not words--from the printed page, while proofreading requires attention to form rather than meaning. The author notes that: (1) a meaningful passage is easier to read than one with less meaning; (2) errors in oral reading usually do not obscure a…

Arguing that writing teachers can neither ignore the teaching of grammar nor expect it to succeed if taught in the traditional way, examines the methods, organization, exercises and terminology of the freshman English handbook, identifies problems, and suggests alternatives to helping students satisfactorily edit their papers. (JG)

Explains how to implement and use a peer editing program. (FL)

Teaching students copywriting gives them writing techniques that will help them boil a 100-word message down to 20 for a letter, write a memo that is memorable because of its clarity and word choice, or produce a report that offers findings in a readable, believable way. (HOD)

A major goal in teaching basic writers is to show them the importance of revision in the writing process, specifically revision for correctness (correcting), for creating content (adding), and for cutting out inessential material (subtracting). Revising for correctness includes varying or limiting the assigned revision tasks, varying the length of…

Word processing can assist college teachers in writing and revising lecture notes, syllabi, vitas, bibliographies, and manuscripts. Disks can also provide notes for students who cannot avoid missing lectures. Electronic changes in materials provide an efficient and quick way to revise instructional materials, add items to bibliographies, and…

To help remedy the problem of college freshmen being unable to explore the diversity of writing strategies expected of them, an extensive review of current research on the composing process was undertaken. Freshmen writers must realize that composing is often a messy, recursive process based on rhetorical awareness, out of which clear and correct…

Prewriting, writing, and revision represent vital elements in both the total writing experience and the evaluation of writing programs. An effective writing program should include (1) a written plan to guide composition instructors and ensure that students receive balanced instruction; (2) clearly stated purposes reflecting concern for composition…

In the area of composition, computer assisted instruction (CAI) must move beyond the limited concerns of the current-traditional rhetoric to address the larger issues of writing, become process-centered, and involve active writing rather than answering multiple-choice questions. Researchers cite four major types of interactive CAI, the last of…

Describes a study designed to determine whether the use of computer word processing would improve both the amount and quality of revision done by high school student writers. The effects of word processing on composition length and revision, and students' attitudes toward writing and word processing are discussed. (47 references) (CLB)

Competent writers make certain decisions when engaged in discourse-level revising of their own written work. Discussion and description of those decisions illuminates and informs classroom procedures for developing such revising and reviewing skills. A reader feedback guide for use in small group work facilitates the process. (Contains 14…

Teachers' role as primary audience has important implications for writing instruction. Teachers represent a combination of two audiences: a literal audience--a specific person or group of people implied in a writing assignment--and an ideal audience shaped by the writers themselves. As these two general types of audiences imply, writers both…

The process of getting a thought out of the mind and onto paper can be divided into five major categories: (1) discovering the word, (2) excavating the mythic word from the subconscious, (3) perceiving the word in the conscious, (4) verbalizing the expressed word, and (5) comprehending the unsaid word. When humans experience anything, their minds…

Discusses revision as a growth-through-change process occurring continuously through all stages of drafting. Describes several ways in which word processing facilitates invention, substitution, reordering, adding, cutting and other aspects of this kind of composing. Offers guidelines for using computers in the writing classroom. (JG)

Suggests techniques for the efficient use of one word processor among many students by dividing the writing process into stages of prewriting, writing, editing, and publishing. Examples of exercises and evaluations, a guide to producing a book, and a list of publications that accept children's writing are provided. (CLB)