Writing, as an advanced model of output, not only conveys the subject but also realizes the communication between readers and writers. Metadiscourse can help writers arrange and organize the discourse to influence readers' understanding of the text and their attitude towards its content. Taking writing samples of College English Test Band 4…

This article reports the results of a study analyzing the interaction of administrative genres and stakeholder beliefs in the Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Project (MWBRRP) in New Mexico and Arizona. The author examines this interaction through an analysis of a set of 944 recorded public comments (with administrative responses) concerning…

Details a review of collaborative styles of professional writers. Notes that some Society of Technical Communication members reported an often hierarchical collaborative process, whereas respondents within the Modern Language Association seemed suspicious of collaboration. Reveals, however, that a dialogic collaborative mode subverting the status…

Argues that rhetorical history serves composition studies in two ways: 1) it provides the field roots and self-definition; and 2) it provides the kind of hard knowledge that puts the field in context. (JAD)

Investigates how job recruiters seeking to fill positions in mechanical engineering or marketing are influenced by the quality of writing in student resumes. Finds that teachers must assess how accurately they and their students understand the community's discourse practices to help students enter a professional discourse community. (PRA)

The discourse classification systems used most frequently by reseachers in composition credit A. Bain, J. Moffett, J. Emig, J. Kinneavy, J. Britton, and R. Lloyd-Jones. A majority of the studies that have included discourse types as a major focus of their work were designed to investigate students' syntactic structures. Other studies focused on…

Discusses interdisciplinary writing as a recasting of disciplinary boundaries insofar as it negotiates the borders between the various disciplinary rhetorics involved. Explores the work of S. E. Jelliffe, a prominent physician-writer, as a prime example of a boundary rhetoric. (HB)

Claims that the contextual nature of "results" sections in scientific articles remains largely unexplored. Examines scientific publications by biochemists. Identifies six rhetorical moves common to such articles. Demonstrates the rhetorical nature of science writing. (HB)

Describes the experience of helping a student revise a personal, expressive piece of writing into a transactional essay. Discusses the pros and cons of such guidance. Concludes with a strong defense of conferencing. (HB)

Argues that a major component of writing programs at all educational levels should be "lifewriting," including biographical, anecdotal, and expressive modes of discourse. Outlines reasons for viewing lifewriting as a valuable component of writing instruction. Provides a basic framework of three diverse programs utilizing lifewriting. (HB)

Suggests that mode of discourse, experiential demand, and gender are significant predictors of writing quality. Finds that narrative writing tasks elicit higher ratings than descriptive or expository; writing tasks requiring personal response (rather than impersonal or outside knowledge) received higher ratings; and quality of writing was more…

Reports findings from a think-aloud protocol study of reading, writing, and persuasive processes in legal discourse during an actual appellate court case. Discusses three aspects of advocates' use of persuasive techniques in written appeal briefs. Focuses on specific persuasive techniques utilized by attorneys. (HB)

Investigates the coherence of nonstandard discourse linguistic sources. Provides examples, such as experimental writing and schizophrenic speech, that establish the necessity of the coherence mechanisms. Emphasizes that, by ignoring nonstandard samples, researchers overlook powerful ways to test theories of discourse. (HB)

When composition educators talk about either "theory" or "practice," they are not referring to a monolithic and unified field, but instead to any number of competing, ideologically charged metacommentaries. The "problem with practice" refers to its own socially complex and temporally diffuse nature. Applications of…

Discusses two sets of neurological case histories: A. R. Luria's "The Man with a Shattered World," and Oliver Sack's "Awakenings." Argues that these histories display two paradigmatic explanations for the mind/brain relation, and that the movement from one paradigm to another also necessitates a movement to different forms of…