Reflection is a necessary component of learning. Through reflective assignments and tasks, students are given opportunities to evaluate their learning and analyze strategies they use while acquiring and applying course material. Reflections also help students assess and think deeply about the information presented in class and thus better retain…

Since writing in the disciplines (WID) is focused on learning how to write formal documents of a professional register, it is important to note that each field or discipline has its own style, structure, and format when it comes to writing, and most composition courses seldom facilitate the transfer of these specialized skills in the classroom.…

Understanding writing assignments is critical to college students' success as they transition from high school to postsecondary environments, but students with writing difficulties struggle to extrapolate required tasks from assignments presented in narrative form. The researcher examined the ability of students to identify assignment tasks when…

The effects of progress feedback on university students' writing mastery goal, self-efficacy beliefs, and writing performance were examined in this experiment. Students in the experimental condition (n = 42) received progress feedback on their writing assignment, whereas students in the control condition (n = 44) received feedback without progress…

The purpose of this study was to compare scores on writing assignments from traditional, fully online courses in technical writing to pilot, hybrid courses at a southern university. A total of 232 students' assignments were compared in this study. All writing assignments were scored by six trained instructors of English using the same five point…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of voluntary discussion forums in a higher education setting. Specifically, we examined intrinsic forum participation and investigated its relation to course performance across two experiments. In Experiment 1 (N = 1284) an online discussion forum was implemented at the beginning of an…

This study investigated the influence of regular structured writing about problem solving on college algebra students' locus of control, flexibility of articulation, and accuracy in responding to written problem tasks. The writing assignments, acronym PSOLVE, provided students a framework for expressing their thoughts about mathematical actions,…

The language shortcuts used in text messages are becoming evident in students' academic writing assignments. This qualitative study sought to determine if the use of the shortcuts has an adverse impact on developmental students' spelling and grammar skills. This research was based on the constructivist theory, which rationalizes that students use…

This study observes and examines how upper intermediate to advanced level college students perform and perceive one-topic-for-each student presentation as a means of learning English. It is also to have the prospective medical doctors ready for their future use of English presentation and paper writing since such demand is on the rise in the…

Seeking to involve students more actively in their writing assignments, two teachers developed a group of sequential writing assignments with an interdisciplinary emphasis for students in an advanced writing course. The goal of these writing assignments was to give students who had solved most of their mechanical writing problems a chance to…

Presents a set of writing assignments and class activities for helping students to define their own writing problems, set their own goals, and evaluate their own progress. (RL)

Faculty ask undergraduate students to write self-evaluations in varied settings and contexts, from reflections on a brief learning experience to descriptions of learning over a course, courses, or an entire college experience. Feedback and degree of structure of the writing assignment are important considerations. (MSE)

The quantity and type of writing demands in the undergraduate curriculum, as reported by students enrolled at the Bloomington campus of Indiana University in fall semester of 1977, are investigated. The study is based on reports of students enrolled in 27 class sections of two freshman English courses, Elementary Composition I and Introduction to…

Two groups of freshman students participated in the experiment. They were enrolled in their first ESL writing course. Before instruction, both groups were pre-tested. They wrote an essay. T-test results showed significant differences between both groups in writing ability. The experimental group made too many errors and had many writing problems.…