Written Communication Jul 1989

Monitoring Processes in Analytic and Summary Writing

RUSSELL K. DURST University of Cincinnati

Abstract

This study examines the monitoring strategies eleventh-grade students employ in analytic and summary writing. Ten high and ten average ability writers each took part in two composing-aloud sessions, writing one analytic, thesis/support essay and one chronological summary essay based upon their reading of history passages. Students' composing-aloud protocols were broken down into individual communication units, which were examined for the kinds of monitoring, self-regulatory behaviors students engaged in to guide themselves through the composing process. The study analyzed students' monitoring at different points in the composing process and for the process as a whole. Multivariate analysis of variance procedures were used to study results of the protocol analyses. The study found that, while writing analyses, students devoted considerable attention to figuring out the demands of the writing task, to examining their own understanding of the topic and its significance, and to assessing the effectiveness of their own writing strategies. However, while writing summaries, students did far less monitoring of their composing processes and reflecting about their subject matter, spending most of their time mainly paraphrasing the readings. Results suggest that both high and average ability student writers employ a wide range of metacognitive strategies in writing, and that students vary those strategies both across writing tasks and at different points within the writing process.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
1989-07-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088389006003005
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing across the curriculum multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. PENROSE (1992)
    To Write or Not to Write
    Written Communication
  2. HIGGINS et al. (1992)
    Planning Text Together
    Written Communication
  3. HAAS (1990)
    Composing in Technological Contexts
    Written Communication

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Durst (1987)
    Cognitive and Linguistic Demands of Analytic Writing
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. KENNEDY (1985)
    The Composing Process of College Students Writing from Sources
    Written Communication
  3. FLOWER et al. (1984)
    Images, Plans, and Prose
    Written Communication
  4. Matsuhashi (1981)
    Pausing and Planning: The Tempo of Written Discourse Production
    Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Perl (1979)
    The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers
    Research in the Teaching of English
Show all 7 →
  1. Beach (1979)
    The Effects of Between-draft Teacher Evaluation Versus Student Self-evaluation …
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. Pianko (1979)
    A Description of the Composing Processes of College Freshman Writers
    Research in the Teaching of English
Also cites 13 works outside this index ↓
  1. Bereiter, C.
    The psychology of written composition
     ↗
  2. 10.1016/S0022-5371(83)80002-4
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/1129635
     ↗
  4. 10.2307/377377
     ↗
  5. 10.3102/00346543057004481
     ↗
  6. 10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.906
     ↗
  7. 10.2307/356600
     ↗
  8. 10.2307/357381
     ↗
  9. 10.2307/1510613
     ↗
  10. 10.2307/1128929
     ↗
  11. 10.2307/1129505
     ↗
  12. 10.2307/356588
     ↗
  13. Winograd, P.
    Comprehension monitoring and the error detection paradigm
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 20 View in citation network →

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