Self-regulated strategy development: a cognitive strategies approach to persuasive writing

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not the application of Self- Regulated Strategy Development model of writing instruction will improve the writing of persuasive compositions in seven 4th grade students. Self-Regulated Strategy Development pairs mnemonics representing the parts of different genres of writing with self-talk statements used by the students to think through the writing process. The students in this study were introduced to these strategies through small group instruction that took place during the regular school day. Through conferencing with the students, and by comparing the compositions written before the SRSD instruction to compositions written after the instruction, I hope to be able to determine if any improvement occurs in the students\u27 writing. At the end of the study, it was determined that four of the students had improved, but two had not. The findings of this study suggest that through explicit instruction in the use cognitive strategies struggling writers can become proficient in the creation of persuasive compositions