Accounting majors (n=126) displayed significantly more apprehension about writing compared to national norms; males were more apprehensive than were females. Nontraditional students (over age 25) did not differ from traditional students. Accounting students were less tolerant of ambiguity than the national norm; males and nontraditional students…

Teaching faculty learn to assimilate into their departmental culture as doctoral students; the terminal degree in Library Science, the Master's degree, however, provides training in the day-to-day operation of a library but not experience in scholarly publishing. As a result, library faculty on the tenure track live in a heightened state of…

Designed to identify students with writer's block, this measure is an attitude questionnaire of 24 items separated into five subscales: blocking, lateness, premature editing, strategies for complexity, and attitudes. If teachers or researchers wish simply to identify blockers, they can administer only the items within the behavioral…

Presents the problem of intentional or unintentional plagiarism on the part of young students, several possible causes for it, and offers ways teachers can help students avoid copying and understand the value of owning one's writing. (JC)

Concerns arise about two of the most widely used measurements in writing research because of faulty logic in the construction of the Writing Apprehension Test and the possibility of incomplete analytic procedures using T-unit analyses. Two experiments were conducted to address these concerns. Results are discussed. (Author/MT)

Argues that the word "creativity" can inhibit students from writing because they feel what they write must be completely new and original. Offers suggestions for helping alleviate writing apprehension such as stream of consciousness writing or free writing. (SRT)

Suggests motivating writing apprehensive students by asking them to "remodel" passages from novels, magazines, or newspapers that have been stripped of details, descriptions, and compound sentences. (HTH)

A research study related undergraduates' apprehensions about writing with their final grade in a composition course, grade point average, and other factors. Found that most A and B students had low apprehension, while D and F students had high apprehension. Implications for teaching writing are discussed. (CJM)

Describes the writing apprehension and difficulty encountered by a teacher participating in a writing institute. Includes a copy of her final essay and some reflections on what the experience and institute taught her. (HTH)

Examines materials in the ERIC database on the characteristics of the reluctant writer, the effect of apprehension on writing performance, and teaching strategies to encourage writing proficiency. (HTH)

Argues that scholarly writing entails entering into a complex network of relationships and engages the writer in a process that may have a multitude of ends. Discusses how professional writing is related to the logic of market in that writers must produce an exchangeable commodity, but the process is governed by the requirements of the profession…

Presents 11 strategies writing teachers can use to alleviate writing apprehension and to encourage student writers to feel confident about revealing their thoughts in writing. (SR)

Suggests having basic writers complete a writing apprehension measure at the beginning and end of the term. Argues that students' responses can help teachers identify problems at the beginning of the term and help students evaluate their own strengths and weaknesses as writers at the end of the term. (RS)

Examines the affective characteristics of basic writers and questions the hypothesis that they suffer from high writing apprehension and low self-esteem. Offers evidence of a group of basic writers in a larger group who had both low writing apprehension and high self-esteem. (MG)

Investigates the effect on postsecondary students of the belief that writing ability is a gift. Finds that higher levels of belief in giftedness correlate with higher levels of writing apprehension, lower self-assessments of writing ability, and lower levels of confidence. Suggests that the belief in giftedness may have deleterious effects on…