scholarly journals Performance, Feedback, and Revision: Metacognitive Approaches to Undergraduate Essay Writing

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Riddell
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Performance Feedback ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
First Year ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Writing Project

Abstract This paper explores ways in which frequent feedback and clear assessment criteria can improve students’ essay writing performance in a first-year English literature course. Students (n = 68) completed a series of three scaffolded exercises over the course of a semester, where they evaluated undergraduate essays using a predetermined assessment process. They were then asked to write their own essays and evaluate them using the same assessment criteria. The efficacy of the project was evaluated based upon student feedback, both quantitative and qualitative, and an analysis of their marks. The essay-writing project was informed by fundamental principles supported by research in teaching and learning: namely, that early intervention in first-year courses helps students improve their essay-writing skills, clear and transparent expectations are crucial for positive student perceptions around learning, carefully scaffolded assignment help students develop their writing skills over time, and increasing the frequency of writing opportunities and feedback leads to higher learning outcomes. Findings suggest that a metacognitive approach to essay writing can provide significant opportunities for students to improve their essay-writing skills. The essay-writing project has implications for those who plan, support, and deliver first-year university courses, particularly those courses involving academic writing assignments.

scholarly journals WIKIPEDIA PROJECT TO TEACH ACADEMIC WRITING IN AN EAP UNIVERSITY COURSE

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 406
Author(s):  
Joseph Jack Horgan
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Project ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
University Course

The introduction of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) into the classroom has led to a number of challenges and opportunities for instructors across the field of education. Wikipedia, a collaborative encyclopedia, has proven to be one of the most controversial online platforms throughout academia, with many higher education instructors banning its use outright. Despite the prevailing negative attitude, there has been a recent shift in thought among some in the field regarding its utilization as a teaching tool in a number of applications. One popular use is as the centre of a writing project, most commonly the creation of a new article or the improvement of a pre-existing one.This paper outlines a case study conducted at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies in the autumn semester of 2019, in which first year international veterinarian medicine students wrote Wikipedia articles as part of a semester-long project in an English for academic purposes course in order to improve academic writing skills such as researching, analysing, summarizing, and editing. Analysis of two questionnaires and the students’ work suggest that despite some challenges, a Wikipedia article writing project can serve as an engaging, rewarding, and effective method to teach academic writing skills. 

scholarly journals Original Undergraduate Research in Classroom Contexts: Student Perceptions of a Scaffolded Approach

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Karen Manarin ◽  
April McGrath ◽  
Miriam Carey
Keyword(s):  
General Education ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Research Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
Student Work ◽  
Class A ◽  
Second Year

This article describes a model for supporting undergraduate research that can be adapted for very different classroom contexts; we implemented this model in a first-year general education composition class, a second-year Psychology class and a fourth-year English literature seminar. We examine student work created for each class as well as reflections and interviews to explore student attitudes towards and perceptions of research. While the scaffolded approach had an impact on students' understanding of the research process, the effects did not vary significantly by level and context as we had expected.

British Students' Academic Writing

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Sultan
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
University Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Remedial Measures ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
The North ◽  
Word Selection

The problem of poor academic writing among British university students is a major cause of concern for universities and their tutors; and it is also of concern to employers struggling to recruit individuals able to communicate clearly and accurately. This article reports on a study designed to highlight some of the reasons for the lack of writing skills, with a view to identifying remedial measures that could be taken to address the problem. The object of the study is an Academy (secondary school) in the North of England, referred to as Northland Academy (NA), one of the new Academies first introduced by the Labour Government in 2000 and now enthusiastically endorsed and promoted in England by the current UK Coalition Government. A first group of students at NA was given relatively simple tests of punctuation and word selection and essay writing; and, separately, a second group was presented with a research proposal and given the task of writing an essay on it. It is suggested that a change in Government policy is needed in order to emphasize and include the importance of academic writing for secondary and FE students intending to progress into HE.

scholarly journals Fostering EFL Preservice Teachers’ Academic Writing Skills Through Reflective Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-106
Author(s):  
Angélica Meza ◽  
Ingrid Rodríguez ◽  
Lorena Caviedes
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Reflective Learning ◽  
Formative Feedback ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
The Impact

This article focuses on the impact reflective learning has on a group of EFL preservice teachers’ academic writing skills through formative feedback and self-assessment at a university in Bogotá (Colombia). The goal was to determine how the participants’ academic writing skills were developed when writing essays for international examinations, and how their reflections upon feedback and their self-assessment process impacted their learning. This study followed a qualitative approach and an action-research design to foster students’ academic writing skills as part of their professional development. The data-collection instruments were essays and teacher’s feedback, students’ journals, and rubrics. The results evidenced learners’ writing skills improvement while implementing reflecting learning, which led to self-regulation and metacognition.

scholarly journals EXPLORING THE BEST WAYS TO SUPPORT FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC WRITING SKILLS

2014 ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Rossana Perez del Aguila
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year University

<p>Este artículo presenta los resultados de un proyecto de investigación - acción realizado en 2012 con estudiantes del primer año en la carrera de ‘Estudios de la Educación’ en una Universidad de Inglaterra. La finalidad del proyecto fue explorar las mejores formas de apoyar las habilidades de redacción académica de los estudiantes. La revisión de la literatura identifica los desafíos que los estudiantes enfrentan al tratar de aprender el discurso de la disciplina; y a la luz de este análisis una reflexión de las fortalezas y debilidades de mi propia práctica provee el contexto para llevar a cabo una proyecto de investigación - acción. Los métodos de recolección de datos que se usaron para evaluar la intervención de enseñanza fueron: cuestionarios, entrevista semiestructurada con estudiantes, análisis de contenido (retroalimentación) de los trabajos finales de los estudiantes. Los resultados de la investigación demuestran que las dificultades de redacción de los estudiantes están relacionadas con su esfuerzo por entender los conceptos especializados, teorías y métodos de la disciplina.</p>

scholarly journals First-year students’ essay writing practices: Formative feedback and interim literacies

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Esambe ◽  
Cina Mosito ◽  
Subethra Pather
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Formative Feedback ◽  
First Year ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
Academic Transitions

The varying literacy standards that undergraduate students represent are a reflection of their interim grasp of academic literacy (Paxton 2007). The aim of this study is to analyse a small group of undergraduate first-year students’ depiction of their interim grasp of academic writing and to reflect on how lecturers use formative feedback to respond to specific issues regarding students’ academic transitions within their discipline. Using an emancipatory methodology, this study was designed as a participatory action research. Qualitative data from focus group interviews with lecturers and photovoice presentations by first-year dental technology students were used to explore how students demonstrated their interim grasp of academic essay writing in a Health Science department at a university of technology. However, this article, which is part of a broader study, analyses a small class of first-year students’ depiction of their interim grasp of essay writing and reflects on how their lecturers use formative feedback to respond to these students’ academic transitions within their discipline. Using activity theory and morphogenetic realist theory to analyse essay writing activities during an intervention, the study reveals that images are potent artefacts that students and lecturers use to build meaningful dialogue during essay writing in an uneven terrain.

scholarly journals Using inquiry-based writing instruction to develop students’ academic writing skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bantalem Derseh Wale ◽  
Yenus Nurie Bogale
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Lexical Resource ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Experimental Group

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of using inquiry-based writing instruction on students’ academic writing skills. A pretest-posttest two groups quasi-experimental design was employed. Data were obtained through test, focus group discussion, and reflective journal from 62 first-year pharmacy students who were selected using comprehensive sampling. While the experimental group received the inquiry-based writing instruction, the control group learned using the conventional learning method. The quantitative data were analyzed using independent samples T-test and descriptive statistics when the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that there was a statistical difference between the control and experimental groups in their academic writing performance. Hence, students who participated in the inquiry-based writing instruction improved their academic writing skills. Mainly, students who learned through inquiry-based writing instruction were able to produce essays that addressed task achievement, coherence and cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy. Thus, this study recommends researchers, teachers, and students to pay due attention to inquiry-based writing instruction in their academic journey.

scholarly journals Developing Students’ Writing through Scaffolding Techniques in a Workshop Forum

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 963
Author(s):  
Gihan Sidky
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
High School Teachers ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Assessment ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Essay Writing ◽  
Secondary Stage ◽  
Writing Genres

This study aimed at enhancing students’ essay writing skills at the secondary stage through scaffolding techniques in a workshop forum. The participants of the study were 40 students at the first secondary stage in a governmental language school. Qualitative methods were used in data analysis; a sample of students’ writings was analyzed in light of the academic writing assessment criteria (Rose et al. 2008).  A pre-posttest was administered to highlight progress in students’ writing in the three genres. Scaffolding techniques proved to be effective in improving students’ writing skills, specifically in the selected writing genres the study focused on which was evident in their second and third drafts. Interviews with high school teachers of English emphasized students need for innovative scaffolding techniques to help them develop as efficient writers. The workshop forum encouraged students to work together as one team and to express their ideas fluently to excel in their writing assignments. Having an authentic reason for writing motivated them to do research and to refine their writing to be good enough to share with others.

scholarly journals Assessing peer review pattern and the effect of face-to-face and mobile-mediated modes on students’ academic writing development

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Akbar Khomeijani Farahani ◽  
Majid Nemati ◽  
Mostafa Nazari Montazer
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Writing Development ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Assessment Criteria ◽  
First Year ◽  
Lexical Resources ◽  
Review Group ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Face

Abstract This study examines the distribution of peer review in face-to-face and mobile-mediated peer review groups and their effects on students’ revision skills and academic writing development. Seventy-two first-year English for academic purposes (EAP) students participated in an 18-session IELTS academic writing course in a Canadian university the mobile-mediated peer review group (MMPR) used Telegram to exchange peer comments synchronously, while the face-to-face peer review group (FFPR) did peer review in the classroom. An adapted analytic scheme (Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 2, 193–227, 2003) and the IELTS academic writing assessment criteria were used to conceptualize the peer comments in terms of frequency, area, type, nature, and IELTS assessment categories. Results indicated that the total number of comments, the percentage of revision-oriented comments and actual revisions made by the MMPR group were statistically more significant than those by the FFPR group. Furthermore, the MMPR group made more local revision-oriented comments than that of FFPR. However, the revision-oriented suggestion in local areas was the most distributed type of comment made by both groups. Regarding the IELTS assessment criteria, the FFPR group made more comments on task achievement and coherence and cohesion, whereas the comments made by the MMPR group targeted more lexical resources, and grammatical range and accuracy. In addition, the results showed that both MMPR and FFPR groups developed their IELTS academic writing skills while the MMPR mode of collaboration outperformed the FFPR.

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