The effects of computer-based writing tasks and mode of discourse on the performance and attitudes of writers of varying abilities

摘要

In this study 48 students participated in a 14-week study which focused on the use of word processing to promote the writing of descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive essays. Sixteen of the 48 students were of low writing ability, 16 of medium writing ability, and 16 of high writing ability. Three dependent measures were used: (a) essay quality, (b) writing apprehension, and (c) computer anxiety.The student writers randomly wrote on the four modes of discourse at the 5-week point, the 8-week point, the 11-week point, and the 14-week point. For example, some writers wrote a narrative at Week 5, whereas others wrote a persuasive or expository or descriptive essay.In this 3 (Writing Ability: low, medium, high) × 4 (Mode of Discourse: persuasive, expository, descriptive, narrative) × 4 (Task Occasion: Week 5, Week 8, Week 11, Week 14) design, it was found that students, regardless of ability, improved across the four task occasions and produced their best essays when writing narratives and their worst when writing persuasives. Descriptives and expositories were in-between. Low ability writers needed more time before writing improvement was evident than medium and high ability writers.It was also found that writing apprehension and computer anxiety decreased, for the most part, across the four writing occasions with low ability writers always having more apprehension and anxiety than medium and high ability writers. These attitudes also fluctuated, depending on the writing task, with relatively lower attitudes being associated with narratives and higher attitudes being associated with persuasives. As with essay quality, medium levels of writing apprehension and computer anxiety were associated with expositories and descriptions.For all three dependent measures there were significant main effects, all of which were qualified by significant two-way interactions. Usually these interactions were due to a delay in improved performance or in decreased apprehension or anxiety on the part of the low ability writers.