The Relationship Between Students’ Writing Process, Text Quality, and Thought Process Quality in 11th-Grade History and Philosophy Assignments

Lieke Holdinga Amsterdam University of the Arts ; Tanja Janssen Amsterdam University of the Arts ; Gert Rijlaarsdam Amsterdam University of the Arts

Abstract

Source-based writing is a common but difficult task in history and philosophy. Students are usually taught how to write a good text in language classes. However, it is also important to address discipline-specificity in writing, a topic likely to be taught by content teachers. In order to design discipline-specific writing instruction, research needs to identify which reading and writing activities during the source-based writing process affect students’ thought process quality and text quality, as assessed by content teachers. We conducted a think-aloud study with 15 (11th grade) students who performed two source-based writing assignments, each representative of its discipline. From the data, we derived 11 activities, which we analyzed for duration, frequency, and time of occurrence. Results showed that the disciplines required different approaches to writing. For philosophy, the writing process was dominant and influenced quality, leading us to conclude that philosophical thinking and writing are intertwined. For history, the planning process appeared to be paramount, but it influenced text quality only and not the quality of the thought process. In other words, historical thinking and writing appear to be separate processes. Our findings can be used to develop strategy instruction that reinforces better writing, adapted to discipline-specific writing processes.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2021-10-01
DOI
10.1177/07410883211028853
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics

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Cites in this index (4)

  1. College Composition and Communication
  2. Written Communication
  3. Research in the Teaching of English
  4. College Composition and Communication
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