Transfer of Writing Skills

Written Communication Apr 1987

NATHANIEL TEICH

Abstract

R. M. Gagné's distinction between lateral and vertical transfer can be elaborated for written composition: (a) the lateral transfer of mechanical and formal skills and (b) the vertical transfer of higher-order knowledge in the domain of rhetoric and writing. Vertical transfer of writing skills is situational: a function of the context and content of a specific rhetorical situation. Success in a situational writing task depends on two types of domain-specific knowledge being operational: (a) knowledge of the specific content of the subject matter and (b) knowledge of the domain of rhetoric and writing. The theory of lateral and vertical transfer as applied to writing is compatible with current conceptions of declarative and procedural cognitive processes and with a balanced pedagogy of both student-centered and direct, content-oriented instruction. Two appendixes present practical procedures based on transfer theory for improving general program goals and classroom instruction of writing.

Journal: Written Communication
Published: 1987-04-01
DOI: 10.1177/0741088387004002005
Open Access: Closed
Topics: transfer

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

Ringer et al. (2021)

Posthumanizing Writing Transfer

College English
Brent (2011)

Transfer, Transformation, and Rhetorical Knowledge

Journal of Business and Technical Communication
James (2008)

The Influence of Perceptions of Task Similarity/Difference on Learning Transfer…

Written Communication
HARE et al. (1991)

The Influence of Interpretive Communities on Use of Content and Procedural Know…

Written Communication
ANSON et al. (1990)

Moving Beyond the Academic Community

Written Communication

Cites in this index (1)

SMAGORINSKY (1986)

An Apology for Structured Composition Instruction

Written Communication

Also cites 4 works outside this index ↓

Anderson, J. R.

The architecture of cognition

↗
10.1086/443789

↗
Krishna, V. (1975)

10.37514/JBW-J.1975.1.1.05

Journal of Basic Writing ↗
10.2307/377219

↗

CrossRef global citation count: 8 View in citation network →