Type

Text

Type

Thesis

Advisor

Dunn, Patricia | Lindblom, Kenneth

Date

2014-12-01

Keywords

Language arts

Department

Department of English.

Language

en_US

Source

This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77545

Publisher

The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.

Format

application/pdf

Abstract

This study is an examination of instructional practices teachers implement during the drafting and revision process and contends that armed with knowledge of how a student responds emotionally and intellectually to these comments, a teacher can have a lasting impact on a writer's development. To that end, it is critical for the teacher to possess deep knowledge of response protocols and conferencing techniques in order for students to generate and refine their ideas. Areas of investigation include the relationship between response methods and writing improvement, the type and mode of comments that facilitate improvement, measurement of the effect of response on student writing, and issues related to product-oriented grading procedures. A number of sources were reviewed based on their lasting endurance and relevance in the field of composition and rhetoric. The approach focused on studying the researchers' methods and objectives and comparing and contrasting their ideas to reinforce key principles of response. A consistent finding in the research is that negative comments discourage writers, especially younger ones, so teachers must find a balance in their communication with writers that is both nonjudgmental and instructive. Teachers must also experiment with strategies that motivate a student to deeply revise rather than singularly focus on surface corrections. This includes strategies that develop in students the ability to extend a teacher's comment to other areas of the paper that is in need of similar revision. A great deficit in this vast body of research is the lack of quantifiable evidence to support the effect of teacher commentary on a writer's growth and achievement. However, the large majority of studies provide evidence to suggest that teacher response is most influential during the drafting process. Finally, a teacher's comments may exert the most influence within an educational community that provides support for a process-based writing approach and suggests several deficiencies within school cultures that undermine the potential benefits of these programs. | 44 pages

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