Research Archive: Effects of Teaching Technical Writing in Freshman Composition

Question: How does teaching technical writing in freshman composition compare to teaching the literary essay or teaching rhetoric?

Answer: “Teaching technical writing in freshman composition was more effective in lowering student writing anxiety than were literary essay or rhetorical teaching approaches.” NA Raisman. 1984. P. 188.

Comment: More useful and purposeful writing to the average college freshman? 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: Peer Revision Groups

Question: Does working in peer revision groups improve writing skills?

Answer: “Although cooperative peer review group did not show significant improvement in writing skills, it did show an increase in the total number of revision operations performed and an improvement in attitudes about revision.” MK Jordan. 1983. P. 187.

Comment: I think teachers need to define what they want to accomplish in peer review groups. If they want students to improve writing skills, that is a different purpose from improving the process of revision. 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: Error Marking in Writing

Question: Do students whose every paper is marked for errors have fewer errors than students whose every third paper is marked for errors?

Answer: “Found that students whose every assignment was marked for usage errors made no fewer errors than students who had one of every three assignments marked.” MS Graham. 19983. P. 187.

Comment: Would suggest that marking every paper for errors doesn’t bring about  much improvement. On the other hand, I have read research that marking errors in every paper brought about significant improvement. What’s the alternative? 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: Short Courses vs. Long Courses in College Writing

Question: Which are more effective? Semester-long college courses or short courses?

Answer: “Reports the results of a series of long-range studies that demonstrate that participants in short courses improve their communication skills as much as students enrolled in semester-long college classes.” C David and D Stine. 1984. P. 186.

Comment: Depends on what you’re teaching. I have run out of time in semester courses when teaching writing—wasn’t able to teach the research paper. Might also depend on the responsiveness of the students. I suppose there is a lot of wasted time in teaching semester-length courses. Depends on what and how you’re teaching. 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: Writing, Reading, Vocabulary and Comprehension

Question: How can one improve vocabulary and comprehension in a reading program?

Answer: “Found that college students whose reading instruction included a writing component improved more on vocabulary and comprehension measures than students whose reading instruction did not include writing.” MM Culp and S Spann. 1984. P. 186.

Comment: That’s a pretty broad conclusion, raising all kinds of questions. Still, if the writing included responses to the reading material, it makes some sense. 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.

Archive Research: Teachers' Comments on Compositions

Question: What are the effects of teachers’ comments on compositions?

Answer: “Freshman composition students found teachers’ comments unclear, sometimes unreadable, and containing the same kinds of errors for which they were penalized.” J Burkland and N Grimm. 1984. P. 185.

Comment: Take the time to find out from students how helpful your comments are on their writing. 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.