Trends in Written Composition.

Recent trends in composition research indicate that attention has turned away from the parts of the writing product toward the steps involved in the writing process. There are two common threads to this research: (1) writing has a number of distinct stages including prewriting, writing, and editing, and (2) errors are a natural part of learning, and are often an indication of progress and growth, rather than of a mistake that needs to be eradicated. Trends in evaluation of written composition include a return to the use of the writing sample, scored holistically, or for "primary traits" (a system developed for the National Assessment of Educational Progress). Another important trend in teaching writing involves inservice education programs, such as the Bay Area Writing Project, that seek to involve the teachers in writing themselves and thereby aid in their understanding of the writing process. (MKM) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Program Description.