tailieunhanh - Improving the Writing Skills of College Students

Writing Skills Abstract Advanced writing skills are an important aspect of academic performance as well as subsequent work-related performance. However, American students rarely attain advanced scores on assessments of writing skills (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2002). In order to achieve higher levels of writing performance, the working memory demands of writing processes should be reduced so that executive attention is free to coordinate interactions among them. This can in theory be achieved through deliberate practice that trains writers to develop executive control through repeated opportunities to write and through timely and relevant feedback | Writing Skills 1 Psychonomic Bulletin Review Production Number RCE709 Improving the Writing Skills of College Students Ronald T. Kellogg and Bascom A. Raulerson III Saint Louis University Contact Ronald T. Kellogg Department of Psychology Saint Louis University 211 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis MO 63103 E-mail kelloggr@ Telephone 314-977-2273 Fax 314-977-1014 Writing Skills 2 Abstract Advanced writing skills are an important aspect of academic performance as well as subsequent work-related performance. However American students rarely attain advanced scores on assessments of writing skills National Assessment of Educational Progress 2002 . In order to achieve higher levels of writing performance the working memory demands of writing processes should be reduced so that executive attention is free to coordinate interactions among them. This can in theory be achieved through deliberate practice that trains writers to develop executive control through repeated opportunities to write and through timely and relevant feedback. Automated essay scoring software may offer a way to alleviate the intensive grading demands placed on instructors and thereby substantially increase the amount of writing practice that students receive. Writing Skills 3 Improving the Writing Skills of College Students Effective writing skills are central in both higher education and in the world of work that follows. One s ability to compose an extended text is the single best predictor of success in course work during the freshmen year Geiser Studley 2001 . Gains in informative and analytical writing ability are moreover taken as a good indicator of the value added by higher education Benjamin Chun 2003 . Finally a large share of the value added by businesses in a knowledge-based economy is codified in written documents placing a premium on a literate workforce Brandt 2005 . Despite the importance of writing skills the 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress painted a dismal picture of .