Abstract

Although studies of writing and literary understanding have demonstrated the value of analytic essay writing for enhancing story understanding, these studies have focused on student's initial interpretations without considering the effects of a teacher's support and direction. The purpose of this study was to explore how 9th- (n = 6) and 11th- (n = 6) grade students reformulated and extended their initial written analyses of two short stories through revisions fostered by two different kinds of between-draft written comments. After revising initial drafts in two response modes (directive and dialogue), the students wrote paragraph-length responses to posttest questions of story understanding. Results indicated significant (p < .05) main effects for response condition and grade level, with the dialogue condition enhancing story understanding more than the directive condition, and the 11th graders attaining higher posttest scores than the 9th graders. Data from composing-aloud protocols revealed that the dialogue condition supported the students' reformulation of their own interpretations constructed in the initial drafts, while the directive condition seemed to shift the students away from their own initial interpretations of the stories.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1994-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088394011003002
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Written Communication
  3. Written Communication

Cites in this index (14)

  1. College Composition and Communication
  2. Research in the Teaching of English
  3. Written Communication
  4. Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Research in the Teaching of English
Show all 14 →
  1. Written Communication
  2. Written Communication
  3. Written Communication
  4. Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Research in the Teaching of English
  6. Research in the Teaching of English
  7. Research in the Teaching of English
  8. College English
  9. Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 8 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/356982
  2. 10.3102/00346543057004481
  3. 10.2307/356630
  4. 10.1080/10862968909547657
  5. 10.2307/357842
  6. 10.2307/357622
  7. 10.2307/747862
  8. 10.3102/00346543057001051
CrossRef global citation count: 11 View in citation network →