In EFL programs, rating scales used in writing assessment are often constructed by intuition. Intuition-based scales tend to provide inaccurate and divisive ratings of learners’ writing performance. Hence, following an empirical approach, this study attempted to develop a rating scale for elementary-level writing at an EFL program in Saudi Arabia. Towards this goal, 98 students’ essays were sco...

The medical writings of early medieval western Europe c. 700 – c. 1000 have often been derided for their disorganised appearance, poor Latin, nebulous conceptual framework, admixtures of magic and folklore, and general lack of those positive features that historians attribute to ancient or later medieval medicine. This paper attempts to rescue the period from its negative image. It examines a n...

Dear Editor, Many years ago unprofessional supervisors were identified as one of the main reasons for the withdrawal of a student’s study. Recently in some universities, unethical supervision has become an increasing concern of students and ethic committees. The last few years has witnessed an increase in the withdrawal rate of students who quit their study because of the poor guidance of their...

BACKGROUND Oral therapies and chemodenervation procedures are often unrewarding in the treatment of focal, task-specific hand disorders such as writer's cramp or primary writing tremor (PWT). METHODS A portable writing orthotic device (WOD) was evaluated on 15 consecutively recruited writer's cramp and PWT subjects. We measured overall impairment at baseline and after 2 weeks of at-home use w...

The evaluation of writing in the ESL classroom has traditionally been the teacher's prerogative and as such it has remained outside the interactive model of student learning. Our goal is to bring evaluation into the classroom in order to increase learners' awareness of criteria for good writing, promote greater improvement of writing by giving learners an instructional and diagnostic tool which...

In March 2005, the College Board introduced a revised SAT® that included a writing section and discontinued use of the SAT Subject Test in Writing. To date, well over two million students have taken the new SAT, and this paper examines research and statistical results from the new writing section. The writing section is composed of multiple-choice questions and an essay. Each form of the SAT in...