This report describes the development of grade norms for timed-writing performance in two modes of writing: persuasive and descriptive. These norms are based on objective and automatically computed measures of writing quality in grammar, usage, mechanics, style, vocabulary, organization, and development. These measures are also used in the automated essay scoring system e-rater V.2. Norms were ...

S AS A GENRE IN ACADEMIC WRITING Academic writing is always considered to be purely objective, impersonal and informational, designed to disguise the author and deal directly with facts. This objectivity in academic writing, however, has been challenged by researchers (Biber, 2006; Charles, 2006; Hunston, 1994, 2004; Hyland, 2000 & 2002; Hyland and Tse, 2004), because academic writing is obviou...

Language use is a type of behavior not yet addressed by the academic persuasive technology community. Yet, many existing applications seek to change users’ word choices or writing style. This paper catalogues 32 such applications in common usage or reported in the popular media. We use Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Human Values to understand what motivates each attempt to persuade; we use the Pers...