Improving Oral and Written Communication

Recent research indicates that reading and writing ability seem more related than previously thought, that writing ability can be effectively evaluated through analysis of student writing samples, and that analytical abilities should be measured through discussion, questioning and examination of expository writing (Cashin and McKnight, 1986; Kozol, 1985). The common premise of recent linguistic research seems to be that reading and writing are natural extensions of oral language. Reading is a meaning-getting process, and writing is a meaning-giving process. Comprehension results from the interaction of the mind of the reader and the text; composition results from the interaction of the mind of the writer with his or her language in the production of text (Hall, 1976; Wangberg and Willekens, 1981-82). Still more recently, as linguistic research has continued, the term whole language approach has begun to be used to describe an integrated approach to the teaching of communicative skills (Shuy, 1981; Smith, 1982; Tierney and Pearson, 1983). The key purpose of this essay is to sensitize an academic audience to the uses of discussion and questioning in the classroom and to reflect briefly on the development of student writing skills