Principles of W. Kintsch's reading comprehension model (1978, 1980) were used to revise an expository text. Two experiments with 170 undergraduates and 125 Air Force recruits indicated that the principled revision conveyed the author's intentions better than the original text, suggesting the model's use for text improvement. (SLD)

The effects of 3 methods of prewriting organization on revision of compositions using word processors were studied for 36 fourth grade private school students. The methods were brainstorming; outlining; and cognitive mapping. Stories by the mapping group were rated more highly for organization than were those from the other groups. (SLD)

Reports the results of research conducted with Grade 5 French-immersion students to determine whether peer comments made during writing conferences were integrated into the writer's final draft, and, if so, how these comments improved the quality of writing. (Author/VWL)

Two experiments involving 46 seventh graders, 28 undergraduates and 28 seventh graders examined developmental and individual differences in students' revising for meaning. Results of both experiments suggested that knowing error location (having it pointed out) may focus less sophisticated writers, like middle school students, too narrowly and may…

Compares the cognitive processing of 12 anglophone French students who wrote an argumentative text in their first language (English) and second language (L2) (French). Results indicate that the writers' strategic knowledge and capacity for meaningful multiple-level discourse processing explains the constraining effects of linguistic processing on…

Describes an exploratory study that investigated the effects of explicit instruction in revision on learners' performance and perceptions about writing. Learners were from a secondary school in Hong Kong. Indicates that explicit teaching of revision strategies has a measurable influence on writing performance. (Author/VWL)

The article reports on findings from a replication of a study of bilingual children's editing and correction strategies. The earlier study analyzed revisions that 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders made to their own compositions, written in Spanish. The present study applied the same procedure and assessment rubric to the first draft of compositions…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the writing processes of second language (L2) writers, specifically examining the writing strategies of three Chinese post-graduate students in an Australian higher education institution. The study was prompted by the paucity of second language writing strategies of Chinese students in an authentic…

This lesson plan contains four activities based on the theme of newspapers and journalism. It includes a lesson to familiarize students with newspapers, journalistic writing, interviewing, and creating a class newspaper. The activities can be used as individual lessons or a larger project of creating a class newspaper.

This guide is a collection of practical ideas for teaching vocabulary and vocabulary development skills to learners of a second language. Most are contributed by teachers of English as a Second Language, but the activities may be appropriate for teaching other languages. Each idea is described briefly, with information given about appropriate…

This paper reports on a pilot study of prewriting group discussions, and language of the discussion group, with 22 university students in a freshman English class in Taipei. Students were assigned to groups of Chinese discussion or English discussion on writing assignments. The quality of each group's first and second drafts was compared, and…

Suggestions are presented for being successful in publishing research results and for disseminating results once they are published. Writing style is the single most important ingredient for success in publishing, and revision is the usual prerequisite for style. Selecting target journals before writing can maximize the manuscript's chances of…

Describing how the experiences of nine cognitive researchers have influenced college writing classrooms, this book demonstrates the critical role of the learner in interpreting and responding to the texts they read, the tasks they are assigned, and the feedback they receive from instructors, readers, and collaborators. Growing out of a project at…

Collaboration in writing is not confined to conventional multiple authorship and peer editing, but extends across the text to include its readers. Strong support for language development comes from dialogic situations in which student writing is created as a response to some other utterance, and yet classrooms rarely support such situations. The…

Originally developed as part of a project for the Department of Defense Schools (DoDDS) system, this learning package on ways to evaluate writing is designed for teachers who wish to upgrade or expand their teaching skills on their own. The package includes an overview of the project; a comprehensive search of the ERIC database; a lecture giving…