Writing Instruction: Students' Perceptions of Its Meaning and Merit

178 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1985.The purpose of this study was to determine if there were qualitative differences between better and weaker writers with regard to previous writing instruction; perceptions of writing assignments; writing strategies; valuing of writing; and benefits of feedback from conferences, peer evaluations, and written comments.The study examined ten college freshman, five better and five weaker writers, through intensive interviews. The interviews were conducted in relationship to a required rhetoric course.There were no differences between the better and weaker writers in valuing writing, perceptions of assignments, positive attitudes toward conferences, negative attitudes toward written comments, and benefits found in peer evaluations. The two groups did have noticeable differences in previous writing instruction and in writing strategies.The conclusions of this study are that writing instruction can be improved through changes in course design, course implementation, and evaluation format. A design based on the process approach, implementation through a workshop style, and evaluation through conferences would have positive benefits.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD