Response To Student Writing

This volume synthesizes and critically analyzes the literature on response to the writing of second language students, and discusses the implications of the research for teaching practice in the areas of written and oral teacher commentary on student writing, error correction, and facilitation of peer response.

The book features numerous examples of student texts and teacher commentary, as well as figures and appendices that summarize research findings and present sample lessons and other teaching materials. It is thus simultaneously comprehensive in its approach to the existing research and highly practical in showing current and future teachers how this material applies to their everyday endeavors of responding to student writing and teaching composition classes.

Response to student writing--whether it takes the form of teachers' written feedback on content, error correction, teacher-student conferences, or peer response--is an extremely important component of teaching second language writing. Probably no single activity takes more teacher time and energy. Response to Student Writing is a valuable theoretical and practical resource for those involved in this crucial work, including L2 composition researchers, in-service and preservice teachers of ESOL/EFL writers, and teacher educators preparing graduate students for the teaching of writing.

"The most impressive feature of Ferris's prodigious discussion of previous research is not the ease with which it can be read, however, but the incisive critique which she applies to these studies. An exemplary problematization of the unquestioned application of L1 writing scholarship to L2 writing situations sets the tone for Ferris's persistent analysis....Ferris's diligent cataloging and critiquing of available studies alone makes this volume an asset to any writing teacher....I plan to keep my copy of Response to Student Writing on a handy bookshelf....I'll put it to good use when designing writing classes, contemplating my own response strategies, and writing articles related to response writing. And, whenever a colleague asks if I know any good books on response to student writing, I will recommend this volume wholeheartedly."
—TESL-EJ

"This book will be most useful for ESL teachers, particularly those teaching writing in an academic setting. However, the research finds can be related to the teaching of other L2s, and the practical guidelines will help any instructors who are grappling with the question of how to respond to their students' writing. It is important for L2 instructors to develop both practical skills for response and a philosophy about their own approach. Ferris's book will support both these types of teacher development."
—Studies in Second Language Acquisition

"...Ferris's extensive review of relevant research and accessible presentation of pedagogical implications should prove an invaluable aid to reflection on the why's and how's of current responding practices. Her multiple perspectives, derived from practicing what she preaches and investigating what she preaches, give Ferris an empathetic, informed, and persuasive voice that speaks to the interests of teachers, teacher trainers, and researchers."
—Modern Language Journal

"A fine book, clearly written, absolutely thorough, with reasonable and persuasive analyses and suggestions for teaching....It brings the most prickly response issues into the open...providing guidance for teachers, carefully grounded in the professional literature. It will be popular both for individual teachers...and for teacher training courses in L2 literacy."
—Ilona Leki
University of Tennessee

"Dana Ferris has written a compelling and useful survey of response in L1 and L2 composition...and has made strong links between the research and the classroom."
—Carl Whithaus
Old Dominion University