Reviews literature on relationship between syntactic complexity (especially as measured by T-unit and clause length) and quality of written composition. Concludes that neither T-unit length nor clause length is a good predictor of writing quality. Lists implications for teachers in the field. (BRR)

A poll of 350 state and local English and language arts supervisors and an examination of research data both show that writing instruction is discouraged by the use of objective tests, while tests that include writing samples generally result in more teaching of writing. (MLF)

Proposes that an awareness of writing as a process is the necessary basis for building effective writing programs, provides examples of activities that promote more creative writing samples, and expresses the need for emphasis on different purposes and audiences for writing assignments to broaden young writers' styles. (HTH)

Existing evidence suggests that students do less well in writing argument than they do in writing narrative reports, and the reasons for the poorer performance are complex and interactive. In some ways argument is more cognitively demanding than narrative, but lack of experience in persuasive writing, and the interrelated nature of the writing…

Extensive research in the area of vocabulary development revealed a very limited amount of information on elaboration for writing. Only one article was found that substantiated the need to connect vocabulary with elaborative writing. This topical bibliography and commentary summarizes the findings in that article. The bibliography/ commentary…

Opportunities for parents to encourage reading in the family are noted and ways to enhance the reading experience are discussed, including writing letters to book characters, singing combined with reading aloud, supplementing school subjects with enjoyable reading, sharing books at family gatherings, and using family experiences for book…

Taking a cautious view of research into the workings of the brain, this booklet suggests that such research has merely given validity to a truth good teachers have always known: all people have two ways of thinking, a linear, logical way, and a spatial, intuitive way. It also suggests that faced with cries for "basics" in education, it…

An analysis of the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks shows that she can be used as a model for students at many grade levels to emulate. Her poetry excels as a model, not only because of her imagery, but also because of her use and modification of both traditional and newer forms of poetry and her skill with the devices of sound. Like other evolving and…

Reviews research on the spelling performance of regular and special populations (learning-disabled and ESL) students. Offers research-supported instructional strategies that can help such students become more accurate at spelling when engaged in real writing activities. (RS)

This article reviews recent projects using text structures and the writing process as frameworks to guide the composition dialogue. Learning-disabled students' attitudes toward writing as a required skill rather than a means of expression are confronted in the emphasis on dialogue. Several blank forms for organizing prewriting thoughts are…

For use by teachers in helping students become better writers, this booklet describes and illustrates cognitive mapping, a prewriting technique that helps students combine their verbal and visual skills in order to produce ideas and to plan stories, plays, reports, or essays. The first section of the booklet discusses the interrelations between…

Writing textbooks are changing to reflect the curricular shift from an emphasis on product to an emphasis on process. The product approach focused mainly on surface features and used an instructional strategy of testing writing rather than teaching it. The process approach focuses on what effective writers do as they move through the stages of…

There are a number of reasons for using creative writing in elementary and secondary English curricula. When students practice using figurative and literal language, they improve their speaking abilities, and their language becomes more concrete, more explicit, more descriptive, and more interesting. Writing poems and short stories forces students…

Examines the use of sentence combining as a bridge between grammar and rhetoric during the past 100 years. (MM)

Research on the relationship between syntactic complexity and quality of written composition was reviewed to test the assumption that these two concepts are positively related. The studies reviewed, which have appeared during the past 15 years, fall into two broad categories: (1) intervention studies designed to increase syntactic complexity and…