Teaching of English Composition into Perspective

This study is designed to gauge the effectiveness of methods used in writing classes at our regional universities, in comparison to the current methods commonly recommended by specialists and used at most American universities. The data is collected as follows. First, an informal survey was conducted with students who had already completed two writing courses, and various samples of corrected student writings were examined. Second, several interviews were held with a considerable number of writing instructors working at both public and private universities, and their writing syllabi were carefully studied. Data collection focused on the methods and strategies in effect; such as the number of students enrolled in each section, steps of writing taught, instructor responses, documentation of written pieces, textbooks, and grading procedures. The study reveals a number of weaknesses in need of urgent attention and offers suggestions and recommendations to help improve the teaching of English writing in regional universities.