This study examined the impact of content revising goals on the revising behavior and story writing performance of fourth grade students at-risk for writing difficulties. Twenty-two students (11 boys, 11 girls) were randomly assigned to either a content revising or general revising goal condition. In the content revising goal condition, students…

A sample of 1049 Norwegian teachers in grades 1-3 were surveyed about how they taught writing as well as their preparation and efficacy to do so. Although there was moderate variability in their response to survey items, most teachers provided students with a multi-faceted writing program. Teachers indicated students typically spent 20 min a day…

A random sample of 1,313 grades 7-9 Chinese language arts teachers in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taipei were surveyed about their instructional writing practices. When asked about their college, inservice, and personal preparation, three out of four teachers indicated that they were poorly prepared to teach writing. They were slightly…

Studies that specifically test the effectiveness of instructional procedures for improving the writing of young African American males who experience difficulty learning to write are almost nonexistent. Although writing intervention studies include these children, researchers rarely disaggregate their data to determine whether the writing…

Mastering sentence-construction skills is essential to learning to write. Limited sentence-construction skills may hinder a writer's ability to translate ideas into text. It may also inhibit or interfere with other composing processes, as developing writers must devote considerable cognitive effort to sentence construction. The authors examined…

In the present study, middle school students were directly taught strategies that facilitated the execution of writing processes, skills, and knowledge involved in planning, drafting, and revising text. Students in the experimental treatment condition produced essays that were longer, contained more mature vocabulary, and were qualitatively…

Eleven fifth- and sixth-grade learning-disabled students composed and revised stories using handwriting, dictation, and word processing. Dictated stories differed from other formats on product measures such as length, quality, and grammatical errors. Differences between handwritten and word-processed stories were found on the process measures of…

The role of executive control in the revising problems of 12 eighth graders with writing and learning difficulties was studied by providing students with executive support in the process. Compared with revising under normal conditions, executive support made the revision process easier for students and improved their revising behavior. (SLD)

The role of executive control in the revising difficulties of 12 fifth and sixth graders with writing and learning problems was studied. Procedural support made revising easier for participating students, but their difficulties were not due solely to difficulties with executive control. Implications for instruction are discussed. (SLD)

The effects of a revising goal to "add information" on revising behavior and writing performance were examined for 70 5th and 6th graders. Students assigned the goal made more meaning-based changes and produced improved text quality. Procedural assistance did not appreciably enhance revising behavior or text quality. (SLD)

This article about the poor writing of many students with learning disabilities suggests that a major cause is inadequate instruction and presents three principles of writing instruction: (1) frequent and meaningful writing; (2) developing, embellishing, and refining; and (3) a warm and supportive environment. (DB)

Whether they have learning disabilities or just need extra help, struggling writers can improve their skills dramatically if they get the detailed, explicit instruction they need. This practical guidebook shows elementary school teachers how to make this systematic instruction part of their classroom. Educators will find a wide range of specific…

Three learning-disabled students, aged 10-11, received self-instructional strategy training for improving revision skills for essays they composed on a word processor. Strategy instruction positively impacted on students' revising behavior and the length and quality of their written products. Effects were maintained over time and generalized to…