Research: Writing on the Job

Question: What contributes to the writing of people in major corporations?

Answer: “Examines writing process of personnel who wrote as part of their jobs in a major corporation. Results indicated that writing, reading, speaking and listening played nearly equal roles in communication.” BT Peterson. 1984. P. 192.

Comment: A no-brainer? Still, it’s an interesting point of view toward success, not only in writing, but in communication generally. RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” JD Marshall and RK Durst. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1985), pp. 183-204.

Research Archive: Revision--for Whom?

Question: How do basic writers and competent writers differ in the audiences for whom they write?

Answer: “Found that competent 12^th-grade writers made a wider range of revisions and revised more for a peer audience while basic writers revised more for a teacher audience.” BD Monahan. 1984. P. 191.

Comment: The basic writers are fighting for grades. Therefore, they are writing for the approval of the teachers. The competent writers have confidence in their writing and generally are not as concerned for the teacher’s approval.” RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” JD Marshall and RK Durst. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1985), pp. 183-204.

Research Archives: Writing Process

Question: What is the history of the writing process and what can we learn from its study?

Answer: “Gives a historical account of the composing process and gives evidence that we err when we validate one single composing process.” EK Larsen. 1987. P. 191.

Comment: Read the voluminous files of individual writers in The Paris Review Interviews, etc. and you will see validation that there is no one writing process that every author uses. However, focusing on one writing process in class allows individuals to begin to assess its effectiveness for them, and they can then develop their own practices. RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” JD Marshall and RK Durst. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1985), pp. 183-204.

Research Archive: Skill in Writing Different Types of Papers

Question: Do students write different types of papers equally well?

Answer: “Examined texts written by college freshmen on five different topics, each requiring different types of cognitive, linguistic and textual manipulations and found individual rank within one writing condition did not predict rank within another.” SB Kucer. 1983. P. 191.

Comment: Every type of writing offers new and different challenges. That’s why we continue to learn to write throughout our lives. RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” JD Marshall and RK Durst. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1985), pp. 183-204.

Research Archive: Correcting a Standard Paper vs. One's Own Paper

Question: Do expert and novice college writers correct their own papers as extensively as a they correct a standard paper?

Answer: “Found that expert college writers almost always correct more errors than  novice college writers with both groups correcting more errors on standard than on self-written essays.” GA Hull. 19983. P. 190.

Comment: Invariably, students correct other people’s papers more extensively than their own. Why? RayS.

Title: “Annotated Bibliography of Research in the Teaching of English.” JD Marshall and RK Durst. Research in the Teaching of English (May 1985), pp. 183-204.