Relationships between writing motivation, writing activity, and writing performance: effects of grade, sex, and ability

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Rebecca Shankland Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/

Abstract: A convenience sample of 618 children and adolescents in grades 4 through 10, excluding grade 8, were asked to complete a writing motivation and activity scale and to provide a timed narrative writing sample to permit an examination of the relationships between writing motivation, writing activity, writing performance, and the student characteristics of grade, sex, and teacher judgment of writing ability. Female students and older students wrote qualitatively better fictional stories, as did students with higher levels of writing ability based on teacher judgment. With respect to writing activity, more frequent writing in and out of school was reported by girls, better writers, and younger students. In a path analysis, grade and sex directly influenced writing activity, while sex, teacher judgment of writing ability, and writing activity directly influenced some aspects of writing motivation. Overall, teacher judgment of writing ability, grade level, and motivational beliefs each exerted a significant direct positive influence on narrative quality, whereas performance goals exerted a significant direct negative impact on quality.

Additional Information

Publication
Gary A. Troia, Allen G. Harbaugh, Rebecca K. Shankland, Kimberly A. Wolbers, Ann M. Lawrence (2013) "Relationships between writing motivation, writing activity, and writing performance: effects of grade, sex, and ability" Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal (ISSN 0922-4777) 26, 17-44 Version of Record available @ (DOI 10.1007/s11145-012-9379-2)
Language: English
Date: 2013
Keywords
, writing-motivation, writing-activity, narrative-writing,

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