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UNF Theses and Dissertations
Student Scholarship
1989
The Effects of Freewriting on High School
Students’ Attitudes Toward Writing
Dana L. Thomas
University of North Florida
Suggested Citation
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© 1989 All Rights Reserved
The Effects of Freewriting
on High School Students/ Attitudes
To\yard Wr i t i ng
by
Dana L. Thomas
A thesis submitted to the Department of
Curriculum and Instruction in partial
fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Education
in Curriculum and Instruction
University of North Florida
Col lege of Education and Human Services
Ju I y.
1989
Signature Deleted
Signature Deleted
Signature Deleted
Table of Contents
Abstract . .
.....•. 2
Chapter One
Introduction
3
Definition of Terms
6
Ch ap t er T\.;o
Review of Literature
............ 7
Chapter Three
Methodology
.18
Table 1 .
.23
Chapter Four
Resu Its . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Chapter Five
Conclusions and Impl ications
References
Appendix A .
.26
.
.29
.33
2
Abstr-act
This
paper
freewriting,
process,
investigates
the
when
part
wi I I
used
lead
as
to
more
hypothesis
of
the
positive
that
writing
attitudes
toward wr-iting in a sample of advanced tenth grade
students.
An
additional
issue
focuses
on
the
level of positive attitudes of males when compar-ed
to females.
teacher
Two intact classrooms taught by one
wrote
group wr-ote
r-estricted
weekly
freely,
in
whi Ie
topic
the i r- wr- It i ng.
papers.
the
choice.
The
The
experimental
control
length
exper- i men ta I
group was
and
gr-oup
form
of
rece i ved
positive comments on the content of their- writing,
but
the
contr-ol
corrections
gr-oup
on
their
received
standard
wr-iting.
The
er-ror
subJ ects
responded to an attitude instrument as pretest and
posttest measur-es.
no
significant
incr-ease
toward writing.
and
comparison
attitudes
The exper-imental gr-oup showed
Girls
groups
toward
positive
in
in
both
showed
writing
pretesting or at posttesting.
the
no
than
attitudes
experimental
more
did
positive
boys
at
3
The Effects of Freewrlting
on High School Students' Attitudes
Toward Writing
Chapter One
Most students entering high school today have
a
preconceived
unpleasant
The
idea
(Gilbert.
thought
of
about
Kastra
taking
pen
writing:
it's
&
Tollefson.
in
hand
and
1987).
putting
words down on paper. whether it be in the writing
classroom or in the pr i vacy of the i r homes.
unpleasant
that
students
contemplate
is so
transfer.
truancy or total rejection of writing assignments.
Evidence
suggests
that
many
attitudes
students are simply ones that reveal
not care
(Gorre I I.
1986).
taken
by
they just do
In teresti ng I y enough.
even those who possess the ability to write well
may
of ten
toward
writing
exper i ence
the
act
as
sk i I Is
the
same
those
who
(Brand
&
nega t i ve
lack
fee lings
good,
Powe I I.
sol id
1986) .
The advantages of a person's abi lity to write need
not
be
outlined
in
detail.
Research
overwhelmingly proven that writing can enrich
has
4
human
1 I ves.
countless
I tis
So
numbers
of
not
supr I sing
instructional
that
methods
and
techniques have been produced to aid in developing
wr it i ng
sk i I Is.
One
of
these
techn i ques--
freewriting--is quite often used under the belief
that better writing wil I occur.
to
improve
wr it i ng
attitude
abi 1 i ty.
toward
hm.Jever.
Using this method
writing
gi ves
rather
the
than
concept
an
interesting twist.
Research demonstrates that attitudes have the
capacity to initiate. stop, stall or continue the
flow
of
human
slowing,
activity.
anxiety
energIzing.
st i f ling.
is
crIpplIng
Anger
Since
Imp Ii cated
In
assumption
that
Generally,
is
both
emotions
almost
and
al I
boredom
Is
enj oymen t i s
s t i mu I at i n g
and
and
attitudes
are
human
behavIor.
the
they playa central
role
in
the
writing process can also be made (Brand, 1980).
The purpose of this project Is to employ the
technique of freewriting to determIne its effects
on attitudes associated with writing.
questIon thus stands:
Wi II
The initial
high school
students
attain more posItive attitudes toward writing when
5
they
engage
in
freewriting
activities
than
do
students who engage in no freewriting activities?
Although the primary goal of this study is to
determine
whether
or
significantly
modify
related
may
issue
helpful
in
not
freewrlting
can
at t i tudes.
one
cha II engi ng
and
conclusions drawn.
If
student
prove
terms of
the
both
freewriting produces changes in writing attitudes.
wil I there be a difference between any changes in
fema Ie \.Jr i ters
when
compared
to
the
changes
in
male writers?
A common belief holds that females tend to
excel
in areas such as literature, drama. writing.
Males,
on
the
If
science.
other
true.
hand.
excel
one might
argue
enjoy writing more than males.
possess
more
activity.
and
if
posi t i ve
in
math
that
and
females
and therefore may
at t i tudes
toward
the
If males indeed require extra prompting
freewriting
offers a
unique and creative
solution to the enhancement of attitude. then the
teacher
of
a
predominantly
male-oriented
class,
for example. may find more use for the technique.
6
At
purpose
proJect
this point,
of
is
this
a
study
reclarification
is
of
appropriate.
looking for evidence of
the
This
freewriting/s
abi lity to change attitudes of student writers in
a positive direction toward their task.
Definition of Terms
Freewriting:
A wr it i ng process,
not
a
fin i shed
product. freewriting is aimed at self-discovery or
exploration of topic.
not
normally
corrected
In freewriting, writing is
or
given
a
grade,
and
experimentation is encouraged as there is no right
or wrong.
Predom i nan t
features of
the
techn i que
are concentration on content, unlimited choice of
form. and rapid, uninterrupted writing.
In pure
freewriting, topics are not prescribed; in focused
freewriting
the
instructor
assigns
unique topics about which to write.
the
students
7
Chapter Two
Admittedly, research of an historical
nature
would be appropriate in order to discover how and
why
certain
student
attitudes
about
writing
evolved.
However, rather than use the historical
approach.
this
more curren t
project
research,
wi I I
direct
attention
in order first.
to
to revea I
what attitudes do exist: second,
to discover some
of
those
the
presen t
surround i ng
the
causes
writing
examine the effects of
of
process:
attitudes
and
third,
to
freewriting in regards
to
those attitudes.
Dailey (1988) defines attitude as a "learned
predisposition
to
respond
to people.
objects or
situations in a positive or negative way" <p. 35).
He
offers
classic
dimensions of
attitude:
the affective dimension.
the cognitive
dimension
and
the
three
behavioral
dimension.
component is what one feels,
about
the object
of
The
affective
likes or dislikes,
an attitude.
The cognitive
component is what one thinks or bel ieves about the
object.
The
behavioral
reacts toward the object.
component
is
how
one
Applying this idea of
8
attitude
levels
to
writing.
one
might
conclude
tha t when wr I ti ng becomes the at ti tud ina J obJ ect .
c I ear 1y a I I
three componen ts are encoun tered.
be
they positive or negative.
Gilbert. Kastra and Tol Jefson (1987) confirm
the
abundance
of
negative
the act of writing.
the
causes
i mpor t an t
for
than
attitudes
surrounding
While such may be the case,
these
the i r
attitudes
mere
may
ex i stence
be
if
more
teachers
are to understand how to intervene to alter them
in positive directions.
According to Heaton and Pray (1985). the most
frequent
factor
toward writing
Cahir
(1984)
influencing
students/
attitudes
is the writing assignment
says
that
students
who
itself.
are
not
allowed to choose their own topics are many times
left writing about
them.
They
effort
and
Assignments
feel
things which
restricted.
understandably
that
are
do
do not
invest
interest
less
not
try
um-elated to
real
in
as
hard.
I ife
only slightly related to classroom events are
the
and
9
unimportant
produce
to
the
poor
I I ves
of
at t I tudes
hand--wrlting.
Ye t,
top icon
studen ts
wh i ch
students
toward
those
and
thus
task
the
at
teachers who of fer
shou I d
focus
no
may
of ten
have numerous complaints of wrlter/s block.
This
disruption of process also contributes to a poor
attitude for the students who can never think of
anything about which to write (Brand. 1986).
In freewriting,
takes place.
about
toes"
5)
formal
"frivolous
to
lessen
assignments.
topics,
some
Students
writing can be fun.
possibility.
invention
Baxter (1987) suggests that students
freewrite
(p.
ideas emerge and
of
I Ike
the
should
their
stress
know
of
that
And freewriting offers this
Many of
the though t s generated may
be discarded. but if students get some ideas down
on paper, they can choose the best ones suited to
their
purpose
and
ultimately
experience
some
enjoyment in the process.
Another cause for poor attitudes toward writing
may be
who
the absence of ...,r i t i ng sk i I Is.
make
numerous
errors
of ten
have
Studen ts
a
self-esteem concerning their abi lity to write.
low
A
10
poor
self-image
deve I opmen t
of
is
a
often
poor
suggests
that
(Gorrell,
1986. p. 14).
(1977),
10-30
by
written
basic
the
beginning
attitude.
writers
errors
also
Evidence
are
the
of
°error
prone"
According to Shaughnessy
occur
students.
in
300
every
words
( 1985)
Lunsford
has
documented one error in every eight words.
Jacobs (1985) says freewrlting °turns off the
voice
inside
students'
heads
telling
their writing is not good enough"
when
them
that
(p. 285),
Only
self-criticism ceases do positive
have a chance to develop.
attitudes
Krashen (1984) praises
the technique and notes that °the most remarkable
discovery
of
this
approach
has
been
that
in
treewriting, persons who think they have no ski I Is
frequently
find
exploring
themselves
strategies of writing"
(p.
29).
I
t
major
f 0 I lows t hat
those low-skil led writers who sometimes encounter
negatIve attitudes may actually begin writing with
improvement using this strategy.
One promot er of
used the
techn i que
f
ree\-lr it i ng (Reyno Ids.
throughou t
an
en tIre
1982)
term
maintain the original enthusiasm and willingness
to
11
he
found
in
his
high
school
Actual
students.
student freewriting became sources for examples of
composition
elements
taught
in
class.
Students
scanned previous freewriting samples for positive
and negative examples of sentence variety. Jargon.
word choice
and grammar"
Because
the
students
worked on their own wrIting rather than impersonal
textbook
examples.
Reynolds
reported
that
they
responded better to the exercises and were eager
to share their writing.
A third cause for poor writing attitude
teacher
response
(1985)
noted
to
what
writing.
one
Heaton
twelfth
is
and
Pray
grade
boy
pinpointed:
English class is a good class. but when you
are never compl imented on your work and
always put down on what you do, whIch happens
a lot. you start to feel that you are no good
and neither is your work.
So my attitude
toward writing Is poor (p. 4>.
According
early
to
grades
Haynes
(1978),
through
students
high
school
from
the
write
compositions knowing that error correction wi I I
12
fol low.
worry
Any enthusiasm is eventually replaced by
over
form,
Heaton
choice.
"excessive
Responding
and
i nsi stence
correctness
ideas
mechanics.
to
can
the
expressed
speJ ling
(1985)
Pray
on
immediate
inhibit
writing"
mistakes
rather
in
a
writing
and
word
say
that
mechanical
(p.
than
7).
to
assignment
the
makes
students bel ieve that a teacher is interested only
in the grammar and mechanics.
Bruce (1982) claims that when writers try to
consider
content
and
form
simultaneously.
the
result Is often slow, painful, uninspired writing:
or worse, writer's block sets in and nothing comes
out.
This situation hinders the true function of
writing.
which
is
to
convey
ideas.
Therefore,
offering positive reinforcement instead of many
red
mark i ngs
may
J ead
to
an
improvement
in
attitude.
Probably the most convincing ideas on teacher
response come from Josten (1982) who states that:
writing is not the abi I ity to form marks
on a page.
. nor is wr i t i ng the ab iIi t y
to use commas and question marks in
13
accordance with the rules.
Too often. the
teaching of writing is reduced to the
teaching of spel ling. capital ization and
mechanics.
programs that stress basics
and never move beyond the technical ities.
A
student can learn to spel I. to punctuate.
and to capitalize and stil I not be able to
wr i t e
(p.
18).
Since freewriting is not graded,
conclude that
it
liberates students to use
compe tenc 1es wi thou t
fau I ty form.
one could
their
f ear of be i ng corrected for
Some method of evaluation, however,
is often necessary so that students do not begin
to feel
as if they are writing for nothing.
One
alternative to grading is to al low volunteers to
read
their
respond.
writing
aloud
Reynolds
(1982)
sources have supported:
give
motivational
interest
in
suggest ions
whi Ie
other
reflects
what
many
that a teacher may also
encouragement
what
students
for
the
highlighting mistakes.
students
next
write
paper
by
or
showing
by
making
instead
of
14
The amount of writing practice can affect
writing
attitude.
writing
apprehension
highly
anxious
significantly
anxiety
fewer
(Heaton
&
This
or
Idea
linked
anxiety.
writing
words
Pray,
Is
Basically,
students
than
with
those
1985).
write
with
This
low
severely
limits the possibil ities for high anxiety students
to
practice
and
Improve
their
writing.
Additionally, Cahir (1984) states that only three
percen t
of
high
schoo I
lesson
time
is spen t
on
writing assignments of paragraph length or longer.
The positive implications of practice are clearly
illustrated in the 1984 assessment of the writing
achievement of American school chi Idren.
Resu Its
showed that students who wrote three or more
reports
and
essays
dur i ng
a
6-week
per i od
had
higher achievement levels in writing than students
who
did
not
(App I ebee ,
write
1986) .
during
WIthout
that
the
improve
through steady pract i ce,
develop
the
confidence
necessary
time
period
opportunity
to
students cannot
and
sometimes
responsible for positive attitudes in writing.
15
Those students who develop negative attitudes
due to
I ack of prac t ice perhaps can be a I ded by
freewritlng.
Used
as
a
warm up students before
daily
Instruction,
can give vital practice.
agree
that
this
dai Iy
timed writing
to
freewriting
Clark and walker (1980)
use
of
freewrltlng
also
develops the students' ability to write under the
pressure of time.
Novice
discouraged
Writing
may
writers
benefit
consists
students look at
of
who
from
many
sometimes
become
freewriting,
steps.
and
the \"hole picture,
too.
sometimes
oblivious to
the many processes involved before a final
is completed.
draft
Scardanalia (1981) suggests using
freewriting to ease the cognitive
load by making
it one of the first steps in writing.
Although freewriting serves many needs of the
student.
which
(1985)
it
give
is
fair
I imitations
found
"ugl y wr i tes"
poor
only
granunar
to
to
report
the
freewritlng.
that many students call
finding
Jacobs
freewri ting
because of the sloppy handwr it i ng.
and
irrelevant
technique often produces.
ideas
that
An apparent cure he
the
16
described
the
is to make certain
benef its of
the
process
that
and
students
to
know
assure
them
that they wil I not be graded.
Another obvious limitation is that students
cannot
write
For examp Ie,
paper,
about
something
generate
topic.
cannot
the subJ ect .
ideas
on
Reynolds
freewriting
do
not
know.
if a student must prepare a research
freewriting
read i ng on
they
Bu t
which
(1982)
claim
it
take
the
place
of
the exper i ence can
direction
says
to
those
produces
take
the
opposed
only
to
personal,
self-centered and introspective writing which
severely
I imits
academic
or
real-I ife
writing.
Fox and Suhory (1986) say freewriting may be
extremely
harmful
produc i ng
useful
to
to
some
others.
short
essays.
kinds
Those
who
tend
freewrlting may be beneficial
to
of
writers
write
slowly.
over-scan.
to them.
but
and
Hm.Jever.
those who are already fluid writers might need not
freewritlng
but
some
type
of
control led
slow
writing.
Obv i ous I y.
there are many other causes
for
positive and negative attitudes toward writing to
17
arise.
unmasked
The literature covered in this review has
four
major
writing
assignments.
teacher
response
to
causes
(2)
of
attitude:
writing
writing,
and
practice and related apprehension.
\.Jou 1d argue tha t
skills,
(4)
(1)
(3)
writing
Many educators
there are sure 1 y more so 1uti ons
to the poor attitudes than there are causes.
rev i ew has, however,
This
focused on the techn i que of
freewriting to determine whether it may be of help
in the reduction of poor attitudes toward writing.
18
Chapter Three
In
order
f ree\.JL it i ng
wr it i ng,
can
over
determine
change
research
conducted
to
of
a
if
the
use
studen t a t t i tudes
an
exper i men ta I
period
of
six
of
t owaLd
na ture
weeks.
was
The
experimental design was a pretest-post test control
group
( 1)
design.
The
the type of
engaged
in
t rea tmen t .
freewriting
group which engaged
and
(2)
independent
gender.
i. e ..
were:
one group \·,h i ch
(experimental).
in no
This
variables
and
one
freewri ting (control):
experimental
design
is
diagrammed below:
Experimental
Intact
Classes
Pretest
Gl
Class 1
01
Approach (x)
02
G2
Class 2
03
Traditional (-)
04
The dependen t
Variable
Posttest
var i ab I e was the performance on
an
attitude scale used a both a pretest and posttest
measure.
Each student was tested at the beginning and
end of the experiment using the Emig-King Writing
Attitude
Scale
for
Students
(WASS),
designed
specifIcally for use wIth junior and senior high
19
(See
students
questionnair-e
Appendix
is
divided
pLefeLence fOL wr-iting,
pr-ocess
of
A) •
wr-iting.
into
studen t
40-item
cluster-s:
thr-ee
peLception of wr-iting and
A five-point
Langing fLom "almost neveL"
used fOL
This
LikeLt
Scale
to "almost always"
Lesponses.
The WASS,
deve loped
fOL the 1977-1978 New JeLsey WLiting PLoJect,
inteLnaJ
consistency
LeI iabi I ity
is
coefficients
has
in
the .60 to .72 Lange (Emig & King, 1979).
As the objective of the fLeewLlting tLeatment
in this study was to change attitude, a meaSULe of
wLiting
quality
was
not
used
as
an
outcome
meaSULe.
For- a six-week peLlod. dULing the fouLth nine
weeks
of
the
schooi
yeaL,
fifty
high
school
sophomoLes fLom an uLban high school paLticipated
in
the
expeL imen t .
implemented
teaches
by
two
one
The
expeLiment
tenth
classes
of
gLade
itself
was
instLuctoL
who
composition.
Equivalence of the classes
I eve I s
con fiLmed
was
English
advanced
thLough
Scholastic Aptitude Test SCOLes.
l
ability
compar i son
of
Analysis in
the
paLticulaL aLeas of English, Total Reading and
20
Tota 1 Language revea 1ed
class
averaged
in
the
that
the
middle
scores of
each
to
80th
upper
percentile.
This model
one control
al lowed for one experimental
class.
and
Treatment consisted of up to
fifty mInutes of free\.JrIting each FrIday for six
consecutive weeks.
fifty
minutes
The control class spent up to
each
Friday
compositions.
Otherwise.
much
as poss i b Ie.
the same
on
regular
graded
instruction remained as
Writing
instruction
continued to take place. along with weekly writing
production, as required by the Jack Gordon Writing
Program mandated by the state of Florida.
Prior to the treatment, an outside researcher
administered the attitude instrument to students
in both groups.
the attitude
At
the close of
the six weeks,
inventory was readministered.
Both
the Inventories and the treatment were conducted
in the students' familiar classroom environment.
Data was analyzed using analysis of
covariance procedures.
Independent variables were
(a) sex of the student (two levels) and (b)
treatment conditions (two levels).
Because this
21
project
was
examining
a
method
not
directly
associated with the teacher1s instructional style,
the
teacher
variable.
was not
inc I uded as
Research confirms that
an
i ndependen t
freewriting
Is
directed mostly by the student: the teacher merely
prov ides pos it I ve commen ts on
the con ten t of
the
writing.
During
the
intervention
instructor1s
motivational
remained
same
the
treatment
was
as
it
introduced.
style
had
period
of
been
One
the
teaching
before
the
difference
dId
occur in the checking of the wrItIng assignments,
where positive comments on content replaced error
correction.
If a student previously disliked the
instructor1s approach
or dis I i ked the
to the teachIng of writing
teacher for
other reasons
creating a dislike for the subJect),
was
not
toward
expected
the
to
teacher.
change
students/
Rather
(thus
freewriting
at t 1 tudes
freewriting
was
expected to lessen the dislike of the subject by
changing those things mentioned
literature.
in the review of
22
Data analysis provided
information
showing
comparison of the pretest and posttest means and
standard
deviations
of
the
groups.
This
relationship is shown in Table 1.
At this point,
further analysis,
a t
test,
was conducted on the two means to discover whether
there
was
attitudes
a
of
control group.
significant
the
difference
experimental
group
in
the
and
the
This relationship is shown in the
results (Chapter Four).
23
Table 1
Mean and Standard Deviations of Control Group and
Experimental Group for Pretest and Posttest Scores
Group
Pretest
Posttest
Control
Male
Female
Total
M
63.67
62.58
SD
9.80
12.31
M
62.22
69.44
SD
8.53
13.12
M
63.05
65.52
SD
9.08
12.82
M
67.13
77. 38
SD
10.05
16.84
M
72.63
81.25
SD
8.52
13.60
M
69.88
79.31
SD
9.44
14.93
Experimental
Male
Female
Total
24
Chapter Four
Analysis of covariance was computed with
at t i tude
pretest
scores
used
as
the
the
covar i ate.
The main effects used were group (experimental
control)
and
gender
(male
and
female).
An
and
F
of
2.57 was computed on the main effects of group and
was not significant at the
The analysis
for
Students
change
of
control
showed
at t i tude
the Writing Attitude
no significant
between
the
Scale
difference
in
exper imen ta I
and
group, by group or by gender.
A I though
79.31
for
.05 level.
from
compared
there was a gai n
69.88
for
63.05
to
the
experimental
65.52.
to
from a mean
th i s
of
group
d1 f ference
as
was
not statistically significant.
The adjusted mean
for
75.76 as
the
exper imen ta I
group
was
compared
to 68.23 for the control.
Regarding
attitude.
an
F
the
of
3.70
.05
\.Jas
effects
of
gender
compu ted and was
I eve I .
Nor
not
at
significant
interaction between gender and group.
there was a significant
the experimental
group.
was
on
significant
Although
the
main
there
a
gain within
it was not significantly
25
di fferent
outcome
scores
from
that
of
the
control
is probably due to the
of
the
two
groups
lower scores inItially>.
(the
group.
This
variabilIty of
the
control
had
group
26
Chapter Five
The results of this study do not support the
hypothesis that freewriting can be instrumental in
improving high school
writing.
The
significantly
than
the
students"
experimental
positive
contro I
attitudes
group showed no more
attitudes
group.
toward
toward
Therefore,
writing
freewriting
may not be as useful a technique, as hypothesized,
for
redirecting
poor
writing
attitudes.
In
addition, the results did not support the related
issue
of
different
significant
attitudes
difference
among
between
male
gender:
and
no
female
attituaes existed before or after the experimental
treatment.
Thus, freewriting may not be any more
or less useful
in changing attitudes in males than
in females.
The non-success of the freewrltlng process in
changing
attitudes
was
probably
three predominant factors:
in
which
the
function
of
(a) the short
intervention period (six weeks),
year
a
experimental
(b) the time of
treatment
was
administered (the six weeks before summer break).
and (c) the level of students used as subjects
27
(advanced).
of
Studies conducted over longer periods
time wou I d be necessary
to determi ne whether
freewritlng could significantly
and
to
process
di scover
could
whe thee
lead
to
change
con t i nued
even
attitudes
use
greater
of
the
changes
in
attitude toward writing.
This study was conducted using students with
weI I above average achievement scores.
Therefore.
the
a
results
are
best
generalized
to
simi lar
Additional research may be
classroom population.
worthwhile in order to discover if attitude change
exists
when
students
( i . e .• be low average,
free\.)r it i ng.
Such
of
other
ability
average) are
an avlareness of
levels
in t roduced to
the method/ s
effects on alternative class levels would
el iminate the guesswork for instructors who may be
considering
the
appl ication
of
freewriting
for
attitude adjustment.
This
freewriting
project
is
the
does
only
not
suggest
that
useful
method
when
experimenting with attitude improvement among high
school
students.
One
should
be
aware
that
freewritlng is only one of a multitude of writing
28
techniques avai lable.
Using a number of methods
is often more helpful
method.
than merely relyIng on one
A particular student in a given situation
may choose one or several from among many possible
techniques.
A I though
the
hypothes is
research was rejected,
proposed
in
th i s
this project continues to
suggest that positive attitudes toward writing can
lead
to
writing.
possible
improvement
in
the
quallty
And if wr it i ng instructors are
least concerned with
in
of
the
issues of student motivation
and achievement, then closer examination and more
experimental
applications
of
other
methods
positive attitude adjustment are necessary.
for
29
References
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The .wr it 1ng repor t
( 1986) .
A.
Wr it I ng
ach i evemen t .. .lIL._.. Amer i can
Princeton.
NJ:
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D.
(1987.
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fear.
of
through
February).
the
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barr i ers
of .apathy .and
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the Southeastern Conference on
the
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A.
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(1980).
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and
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G.• & Powell . .J. L.
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process:
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(1986),
A
Emotions
descriptIon
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33
Appendix A
Emig-King Attitude Scale for Students
Sex:
M_ __ or F_ __
Di recti ons:
Mark A 1 f your response Is Almost Always.
Mark B 1 f your response Is Often.
Mark C if your response is Sometimes.
Mark D if your response Is Seldom.
Mark E if your response is Almost Never.
1.
I write letters to my fami I y and friends.
2.
On my own, I write stories, plays or poems.
3.
I voluntarily reread and revise what
I~ve
written.
4.
When I have free time, I prefer writing to
being with friends.
5.
I prefer topics I choose myself to ones the
teacher gives.
6.
On the whole. I like school.
7.
I use writing to help me study and learn new
subJects.
8.
Girls enJoy writing more than boys do.
9.
I like what I write.
34
10. Writing is a very important way for me to
express my feel ings.
11. Doing workbook exercises helps me improve my
writing.
12. A student who writes wei I gets better grades
in many subjects than someone who doesn't
write well.
13. When I have free time, I
pr~fer
writing to
reading.
14. I do school writing assignments as fast as I
can.
15. I get better grades on topics I choose myself
than on those the teachers assign.
16. I write for the school newspaper, literary
magazine or yearbook.
17. I voluntarily keep notes for school courses.
18. When I have free time, I prefer writing to
sports. games or hobbies.
19. I
leave notes for my fami Iy and friends.
20. The teacher is the most important audience for
what I write in school.
21. Students need to plan in writing for school
themes.
35
22. When I have free time. I prefer writing to
watching television.
23. I write better than I speak.
24. Good writers spend more time revising than
poor wrIters.
25. I accept positions in groups that involve
writing.
26. I write better than I read.
27. I spend more time on a piece of writing I do
outside school than one I do as an assignment.
28. Studying grammar helps me improve my writing.
29. I/d rather write than study literature.
30. I share what I write for school with fami Iy
and friends.
31. I write public figures like my Congressman or
Mayor.
32. I write graffiti.
33. In class. I share what I write with other
members of the class.
34. When I have free time, I prefer writing to
listening to music.
35. Teachers give poor grades to papers that have
misspel lings.
36
36. Writing for others is more important than
expressing myself.
37. I can put off doing assigned writing until the
last minute and still get a good grade.
38. I must learn to write a good paragraph before
I can write an entire theme.
39. I keep a journal or diary.
40. I prefer writing to dramatics in English
class.