The present work discusses a new moderate rotation theory for anisotropic shells, proposed by Schmidt and Reddy. All aspects of the derivations are explicitly covered and a finite element formulation of the theory is developed for the solution of test cases. Specific forms of the equations for rectangular plates, cylindrical and spherical shells are derived and the respective finite elements are implemented in a computer code. In order to compare the results, two other theories are implemented: a refined von Karman type shell theory and a shell theory proposed by Librescu. A finite element computer code based on a degenerate 2-D shell theory is also used. A set of cases involving anisotropic shells in bending, buckling and postbuckling permit an evaluation of all these models and form a basis for future developments. / Ph. D.