This volume examines the role of social factors in the nature and development of written communication. Unlike previous works, the volume is dedicated to examining the ways in which written communication affects and is affected by the community of writers and readers who produce and interpret written language. It focuses on the extent to which writing depends upon principles of social context that are posited for language in general. Intended for both researchers and teachers in language, composition, education, and communication, the volume draws together a number of distinguished scholars in linguistics, communication, education, anthropology, and sociology. It offers theoretical and applied perspectives on aspects of written communication that share in the social foundations of language.

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This study concerns two related issues pertaining to the evaluation of students' written compositions: the relative effects of content versus mechanics on judgments of quality, and the extent to which raters are able to follow instructions directing them to attend more to one aspect of writing than to another. A college-level expository essay was made weaker in content (by reducing the number of underlying propositions) and in mechanics. The original and altered versions were rated analytically and holistically according to different sets of rating instructions. Analysis of variance indicated that mechanics had a greater influence on raters' judgments than either content or rating instructions. Thus the results suggest that evaluators may not be able to focus on individual criteria of writing quality.